After the Storm
by sunkissedvampire
Summary: The world had come to an end as it was known. Natalie had made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure all came to a fair and just end. Now, it is up to them all to rebuild. A possible outcome of the "End of Days".
1. Next to me

The calm after the storm was rarely ever discussed. It was always the calm before, that heavy and pregnant silence that was doomed to be shattered, and give birth to massive destruction. Those who were alive to experience it, however, and live through it were left to pick up the pieces after. Thus, the calm that blossomed into existence after the devastation had come to an end, was all the more saddening. Lives were almost always lost, homes destroyed, and communities were left to climb back to their feet with aching hearts.

It had been no different for the supposed "End of Days", Natalie had realized, as she had stood among the wreckage herself that day and watched as her loved ones stumbled to their feet. All but one.

What no one had expected, though, was that the end of all days had simply meant; The end of all days as they knew it. Earth itself had not ceased to exist when Michael and Lucifer had finally come to blows. It did not blink out of existence in an inferno brought on by their violence. Had it been dealt a serious blow? Yes, in the sense that Heaven and Hell had ceased to exist. What had risen to take its place was a sort of combined afterlife in which all souls passed through as they were mended, polished, and sent back to be reborn. A garden in which all those who lived, saints and sinners alike, were lead to by Death himself to be healed before they were sent back out to experience life again, with new memories to make and old ones replaced. It was a balance that had sorely been needed. A balance that the concept of Heaven and Hell could not provide. It was too much for the world to continually birth new souls to die and then be sent to their perspective afterlives. Earth's population would grow and diminish while Heaven and Hell would swell and swell with souls, and while heaven could always expand, Hell could not. Hell had been contained within one being, one person, and the continues onslaught of damned souls swelling within him could not be withstood for much longer. He had known that. Known it as his mind was slowly driven to madness and he desperately clung to all that he could to keep himself in check. So he had to end it. Either he chose to end it, or all those trapped within him, billions by that point, would surge forth and take the world themselves.

And as the battle had come to an end, as the world had lain in ruins around them, a solution was born. A solution that God himself had been working towards from the moment his favored son had revolted and fallen. He had seen the error in his judgement then, and had started pulling strings to birth a solution.

Natalie was born into the world as a normal human child, but her soul had been special, he had made sure of it. She would be their garden.

And as everything came to an end, and Heaven was destroyed in their fight, and Lucifer himself wounded beyond all repair, the remaining souls, with nowhere to go, were drawn to her. The tattoos that she had gained per God's request sealed them within her, but the additional tattoos upon her chest allowed them to pass back into the world when they were ready. It was a sun, simple in design, and warm and inviting. Those who had passed were pulled through her, into an comforting darkness lit up with bioluminescent flowers and forests, where they would heal their wounds and hearts in quiet. And when they were ready, the sun would shine on them, and beckon them forth to return to their new lives once more.

Natalie had made the ultimate sacrifice to end the war and chosen to take on all the responsibilities and hardships that had pushed the angels to their breaking point by herself. It was hard. Not because the task itself was difficult, because it was not (she simply had to exist as herself and the work would be done on its own), but because she had gained immortality with it. She knew it as soon as the first soul had entered her heart and nestled itself among the garden sleepily, like a child wrapped in its mother's warmth, and her chest had felt heavy while her body grew light. And it had broken her heart to know that she would outlive all her friends and family. Most, anyways.

The world had ended as they knew it because, the presence of angels and demons alike, had been exposed to all that day. With no heaven to return to, the angels had taken up roost on Earth to spend the rest of their lives along with the demons who had fallen long ago. With no heavenly essence to live off of, they were now connected to Natalie herself, and would come and go to replenish their lives. With all the worlds souls recycling through her, she had no shortage of energy to supply, and it was beautiful in its simplicity. In a way, she had become a mother to all.

But there was one soul she had not yet felt return to her, one very loved and cherished by her. Lucifer himself had disappeared. In the battle to end all days, he had been wounded beyond all repair, left as a broken shell when the souls he had harbored for so long left him in an explosive rush of power. And in the uproar of it all, the fires and screams soon followed by quiet awe, he had vanished.

And Natalie cried.

She cried for so long that storms head swallowed up the Earth to echo her emotional turmoil. They washed away the destruction that had been wrought, all the rubble and debris of ruined lives and homes, and soothed the wounds gouged within the Earth itself. Her sorrow provided the opportunity for rebirth, but it did not ease her own pain. It rained when angels cried.

His soul did not return to her as all those who had died in battle had. She had wondered if God himself had simply chosen to wipe him out of existence, took pity on him and all that he had endured, and took him from the world so that he could feel no further pain ever again. Another part of her wondered if he had survived, and simply slipped away in the turmoil to nurse his wounds, and would one day come back. Or not, she added as an afterthought, maybe he would start a new life for himself.

Either way, she still lived, and with no heaven for her to live out her existence within she had to make a life for herself.

She chose to continue as normal, as Lucifer himself had tried to while the souls of the damned clamored within him to escape, and returned to her home and family to rebuild their lives.

Now she stood, six years later, more or less a grown woman, working a normal job to make ends meet. She would never be left wanting, as all angels and demons alike worked to provide for her whatever she needed, but she had chosen to work to keep her mind occupied. She could not stand the quiet, as though her heart was a refuge for all souls, she still heard their voices. It was not as chaotic and consuming as Hell had been for Lucifer, but it did distract her at times, so she chose to keep her mind working and got herself a job. She had been given a large house, acquired by the angels, and had filled it with as many of her friends and family as she could. As much chaos as its walls could handle to keep her in the present. But six days out of the week she worked at a Hookah Bar opened by Laila herself.

Laila had abhorred smoking, but after meeting Festus, she had picked up the habit. Hookah, though, as Natlie and herself discovered on a night on the town, was a much better experience. Laila recalled several times in which she had watched the demon stand out in the cold, a glowing cigarette cupped within his hands to protect its fragile light from the wind and rain, and understood the separation and loneliness a smoker felt. Hookah was different. A hookah was set up on a table in the middle of a room full of people who would pass a hookah hose around, talking and laughing, while smooth and delicious flavored tobacco danced across their tongues. Was it healthier? No. But did it sooth aching and lonely souls? Yes.

In the process of rebuilding their lives, she had taken out a business lone, and purchased an parking lot and building to create a refuge of her own for the living. The warehouse had needed a lot of work but after a year it had been renovated and filled with comfortable furniture and décor, televisions, games, an actual bar, and pool tables. They served light food, nothing fancy, but enough to fill the bellies of any who were hungry, and the alcohol they provided was of the comfort variety. Beer and wine. Laila would not put up with hard liquor, though they had built in several bathrooms for convenience, she would not stand for messes.

It was a place in which all were welcome.

Natalie loved it because she imagined Lucifer would very much approve in his hedonistic way. It was a safe place for humans to indulge in their less than healthy habits, but also, provided a sense of community and assurance. The world was still rebuilding, so such businesses were held in high regard. Natalie loved it because, while she filled ceramic bowls with the sticky flavored tobacco, she could also watch the small blocks of coal used to heat the tobacco smolder on the burners. The coals would slowly begin to lite, like embers in the darkness they glowed, and they reminded her of him. Of his eyes and wings and very soul. Small, sometimes broken, but capable of providing so much. Natalie loved it because it was never slow. Business was booming always, as the large building attracted humans, angels, and demons alike and she was never bored.

The world was rebuilding and it was beautiful. Crime rate decreased exponentially and love and laughter filled the streets. Sure, people still had their woes as they always would, but it was so much better knowing that angels walked the Earth and they would always be reborn to try again. It pushed them to do better.

Natalie stood, as a grown woman, in the kitchen of their little business staring at the coals as she always did while the sound of a chattering crowd slipped under the door to soothe the chattering in her mind. She was happy, for the most part, but her heart would always be broken. That did not mean she was any less whole, she had learned, it just meant she had a little more character. A little more to tell and give. And, in all honesty, she felt it suited her just fine.

She switched the burners off, noticing that the coals had fully lit, and used a pair of metal tongs sitting on the counter to pick them up, one by one, and set them aside to be used for new guests. Laila had slid into the kitchen behind her with a few ceramic bowls to be filled with new shisha, the sticky tobacco used for Hookah, and spared her a small smile.

"McAllister," Laila greeted, "You here early today."

Natalie shrugged with a smile, "I had nothing else to do, besides, who else would do all the restocking?" It was true, for all of their business, they had too few hands to help. Laila was the owner and main manager of the place, but Natalie had been given the title of manager as well. They ran the place together and hired on many people, but the turnover rate was quick. This was not due to poor management, but rather the state of the world. Everything was changing, people were moving and exploring the new world, and learning from them to open similar establishments in other locations. It was good, and meant more hours for the two of them to collect pay and tips. Who could complain?

"Fair point," Laila laughed.

Natalie threw her hands in the air in good humor and slipped out of the kitchen. A small hall lead out into the main area of the building where the pleasant chatter originated from. Rather than join the crowds, though, Natalie turned to climb a set of stairs that lead up into the main office. It was a decent sized room filled with bookshelves, two desks, and a small living room set up consisting of a couch and coffee table. A television sat across from the couch, on a small black entertainment center, where the news was always playing.

She stopped at a full length mirror hanging from the wall and adjusted her bun. A few locks fell to frame her face nicely and she smiled. She wore a pair of denim skinny jeans and a baggy black sweater that hung off one shoulder that day, her customary black headband present to hold back any unwanted flyaway wisps of hair. The outfit was completed with a pair of cushioned black flats built for long hours on your feet. It was cute and comfortable, she had decided, and a little closer to Laila's gothic look she had so admired as a teenager.

Her smile grew into a grin.

She sat down at her desk to mark off all the items that had been restocked, the sheaf of papers larger than one would expect, but manageable. She chewed on the pen cap absently as her eyes scanned the lines of products thoughtfully. It was boring, but she was grateful she was sitting down at that moment, as the sun tattoo on her chest began to glow. Warmth spread through her body and she grew lightheaded at the telltale signs of a handful of souls returning to the world to be reborn.

"Thank you," they whispered as they left her to start their new lives.

Tears sprung to her eyes as a grin grew across her face and she sent out a silent "Your welcome, live well."

She rubbed at her chest and returned to her work once more. It was midafternoon and she wanted to finish before night fell. Once seven PM hit, they would be full to bursting with guests, and Laila would need all the helping hands she could get.

Natalie groaned and flopped across her desk with a sigh. It was Saturday too, so she knew it was going to be crazy busy on top of it, and her body already ached at the thought of the long night. For all her immortality, she was still very much human physically, and even she would grow tired after a few hours of hard work on her feet.

She would have herself a hookah before it all started, she decided, and pushed herself to her feet. She returned to kitchen to get her own hookah set up, a black glass vase and gold down stem, and threw a hose over her shoulder while she packed herself a bowl. Once the coals had been lit, she carried it all out into the main room where several people were sitting about on couches and tables. Despite the earlier hour, the room was filled with sweet tasting smoke already. The day light streaming in through the windows lit the smoke for all to see, it swirled within the rays of light lazily, and lent an ethereal feel to the room.

Some classic eighties rock played over the sound system to provide background noise to the chatter and laughter. There were a few people sitting up at the bar for happy hour, Natalie noticed, as she padded across the concrete flooring and found a couch in the back to claim as her own. It was her favorite. A big red micro fiber sectional that you practically melted in when one sat down on its plush cushions. She had provided an expensive rug, gifted to her by Gabriel himself, to add more décor to that specific area. It was thick, soft, and perfect to dig your toes into and the floral pattern went well with the red couches and black coffee table. To confirm this, she kicked her shoes off every time before she set foot on the rug to enjoy is as much as she could.

The smoke was thick back there as she set her hookah down and wriggled her toes within the rug happily. She looked up at the air vent above the couch thoughtfully, wondering why it was not working at that moment, before shrugging and threw herself onto the couch with a pleased sigh. She would worry about it later.

"Nat!"

She groaned and pushed herself up to see Nathan, their bar tender, waiving her over urgently. "What?" she called back, loath to move from her spot.

"Come here, I made a new drink and I need a taste tester," he shot back with a laugh as she grudgingly pulled herself off of the couch and trotted over. The few people at the bar chuckled at her antics.

"Show me watch you got," she drawled as she slid to a stop behind the bar with her hands on her hips.

Nathan, a twenty-five your old man with short brown hair and a goatee, grinned as he handed her a small glass filled with an orange opaque liquid. "It's got peach juice, a bit of fireball, and a cinnamon sugar rim," he stated as she waved it under her nose to get a good smell of it.

"It smells good," she mumbled in surprise before taking a sip of it. She smacked her lips for affect, looked back down at the half filled glass with raised brows, before throwing the rest of it back like a champ. "That's good stuff," she admitted with a grin.

"Alright, another one to add to the menu," he crowed in triumph. He threw the washcloth, previously slung over his shoulder, on to the counter in triumph and clapped his hands.

"Alright, alright," Natalie placated him with a laugh, "Calm thyself." She greeted the guests at the bar with a cheery waive before turning back towards her couch. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to enjoy my hookah now."

"Make sure to drink some water," Nathan cautioned with a grin as she padded away. Hookah and alcohol were a bad mix, something they always cautioned their guests on, as it could often give one a dizzying affect.

Natalie returned to her hookah with another sigh and paused to adjust the bowl at the top to make sure the tobacco wasn't burning too horribly. She was about to sit back down when she noticed there was someone sitting within the matching plush red armchair next to the couch. There was a window just behind it, and a large potted plant to the side, with those two factors and the smoke she had nearly missed their presence all together. As it were, she could not see who it was due to the light streaming in through the window.

"Hi there!" she greeted cheerily. "Did you just get here? Are you looking to get yourself a hookah too?" she queried.

Broad shoulders could be seen above the back of the chair, a black button up shirt, and jeans. One leg was thrown over a knee, ankle perched just so, and fingers drummed on the arms of the chair. It was certainly an intimidating position and advertised the level of confidence within the person who sat in such a way in any public establishment. But Natalie was rarely phased and continued to smile as she waited for a response.

The fingers halted in their steady rhythm. The man did not answer her as he pushed himself out of the chair and stepped around the coffee table smoothly, his height impressive as he stood before her. And as the smoke cleared the light from the window blocked by his form, her heart froze.

Yellow eyes stared down at her, piercing and searching, desperate for recognition.

Natalie took half a step back as the distant chatter of the bar fell away and something inside of her chest swelled. She half thought she was going to vomit, the taste of the peach juice and fireball she had just drunken pungent in the back of her mouth.

He grabbed her shoulders and the familiar steady weight left her heart soaring as tears sprung to her eyes and the desperation in those achingly missed eyes dispersed in so much relief. Tears spilled forth down his cheeks and his hands trembled.

His knees gave out and he sagged against her, knocking the hookah to the ground as she dropped to her own knees under his weight. The glass shattered and Laila and Nathan rushed across the ware house at the sound. Lit coals danced across the floor and skittered to a halt on the rug, smoldering through its fibers in a matter of seconds, voices shouted out in panic as a fire sprouted to life next to the coffee table. Someone called for a fire extinguisher and the hurried shuffle to follow was filled with panic.

Natalie heard none of it as she stared into those piercing yellow eyes that, even in his weakened state, stole her breath away. Her hand found its way to the back of his head, fingers curling within black locks, and pulled him towards in her in a daze. Arms wrapped around her in desperation, yearning to feel her against him, as he rested his head on her shoulder and allowed his tears to trail across her bare flesh.

"Lucifer!" a voice called from across the room.

The building fell silent as Laila put the fire out and set the extinguisher on the coffee table with a practiced ease. Not a single strand of her black hair was out of place as she stared with wide eyes at the two crouched on the floor.

The silence was broken by a single keening sob from Natalie herself.

"Where have you been?" she spat out in an accusing tone through her sobs. Her hand never left his head, eyes vacant as she stared out through the window in front of her. His arms tightened around her, he had not the strength to answer, and rocked her back and forth within his grasp. He was weak. Weak from being severed from heaven, losing his wings, fighting Michael, and then . . . then he had spent years trying to find himself. The black abyss that was his heart and soul, once home to billions of the damned, was empty and he did not know who or what he was for the longest of times. He had gone six years without her, six years without any essence from heaven, or the energy she herself now offered. It had taken him years to sense her and stumble his way back to her. To his home. But he had made it. He had found himself again and returned.

"I'm sorry," he forced out through his tight throat and clenched teeth. His ears, still long and pointed as she had known them to be, drooped under the weight of his relief.

"You jerk," she bawled and buried her face into his shoulder as well.

"I'm sorry," he repeated and squeezed his eyes shut against the turmoil of emotions within him. They clawed at the inside of his chest and raked it raw.

Natalie pushed him back to stare up into his eyes again, her own red rimmed and filled with tears, and pulled his face down to hers. Their lips met for the first time and his desperation was awoken again. His own hand slid up to the back of her head, deepening the kiss, while his other arm tightened around her waist.

Somewhere in the room, someone whistled, and the place exploded into applause and catcalls. Angels and demons alike, present within the building, cried in joy. And as they kissed, more and more arrived, having caught word from others. Angels seemed to appear out of thin air while demons arrived through shadows and doorways, desperate to catch sight of their missing brother, and the reunion they had all hoped would happen.

They separated to catch each other's eyes again. Lucifer's dropped to the tattoo, just under her collarbone, and shakily lifted a hand against it. It was warm to the touch and seemed to glow under his palm.

"Beautiful," he whispered, for once, in awe of what his father had created. Before him sat a garden of healing. No secrets or laws to restrain and control her existence. She just was. He grasped her shoulders again, taking in all that she was, all that she had become and smiled. He recalled that she had once been a sad but cheery teenage girl, caught up in her own woes, and dragging him along with against his will. How they both had grown.

Natalie smiled back through her tears. "I missed you," she mumbled through her own throat tight with emotion.

He grinned, teeth just as sharp as she remembered, "I missed you too, kid."

And her broken heart began to heal for the first time in six years.


	2. The Sound of Change

It was Festus who finally broke them apart. He had been in the back room, rifling through Laila's lunch when he had heard all the commotion and came out to see what it was all about. He watched on with wide eyes before he had finally had enough. He rushed forward and shoved Natalie out of the way to glower, eyes like watery daggers, at his leader.

Natalie scowled at the back of his head while the younger demon berated Lucifer for his absence. Satan himself stared down at the brat with an endearing smirk, not even listening to his accusations, before he lifted a hand and ruffled his hair.

"It's alright, Festus, I'm here now," he placated the boy who saw him as a hero. He always had, Lucifer recalled thoughtfully as Festus wiped his eyes and pushed himself away to stand next to Laila, his back turned on Lucifer but a small smile hidden away from all eyes but Laila's.

Lucifer reached out for Natalie's hand, and the two intertwined their fingers together tightly, not willing to let the other go. "Natalie," he called her name quietly under the excited commotion that had possessed the room. "Where is Michael?" he asked searchingly.

Natalie bit her lip and dropped her eyes to her knees. "I don't know," she answered truthfully and squeezed his hand within hers. "He hasn't been seen since that day, I know he's alive, but he's hiding," she explained.

Lucifer's eyes widened just a fraction before he too dropped them to the ground. "Asshole thinks he killed me," he muttered darkly. Had Lucifer been able to see his own body that day, he would have thought so as well.

Natalie had seen it. She had been there. She had watched as he seemed to fall for the second time. Eyes wide and lifeless as the fire around him died and blood spilled forth from his chest. He had slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap after the souls of the damned had left him with the final blow. And as Michael came down crashing after him, the consequential explosion sent the earth within a hundred yard radius to the sky and Lucifer's body had been lost. The archangel had spent days searching for him, sifting through the rubble as best he could while injured, but to no avail. He had disappeared soon after, a heartbroken mess.

"We'll find him," Natalie assured with a smile.

Lucifer responded in kind, though his was far more sad.

"Until then," Natalie chirped, "You need a bath and a nice night of bed rest." He just needed to relax, she thought, as she had felt the tense knots in his back, the way his legs struggled to support him, and knew that some time with her would leave him feeling replenished.

"I'm not dirty," he muttered, straight faced, and reveled in the familiar irritation that she had awoken with him.

"It doesn't matter," she snapped, "It'll make you feel better." She was so matter of fact in her tone that, in that moment, he did not have the heart to argue. She pushed herself to her feet and pulled him up with her. Lucifer leaned heavily on her shoulder once he was on his feet again and buried his face within her hair. He had missed her so much, even her smell was comforting to him, and her presence at his side soothed the deep longing ache that had grown to swallow him whole while they were apart.

"Laila," Natalie called as she steadied the man and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yes," Laila perked up and stepped forward to pick the metal down stem of the forgotten broken hookah off the ground. "You take him home, Felix, help me out tonight," she instructed with a small smile.

Festus rolled his eyes but nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Thanks, Laila, I'll be back as soon as I can," Natalie said with a grin.

Gabriel stepped forward from out of the crowd to help guide Lucifer. He wrapped the man's arm over his should and took him from Natalie's grasp with a kind smile. "We missed you, brother," he muttered quietly as they walked passed the crowd that parted before them.

"I bet you did," Lucifer drawled, eyes shut in exhaustion but a satisfied smirk on his face.

Gabriel smiled in return and said no more as they shuffled out through the door, held open by Natalie, who had only left for a short while to collect her purse. Natalie hurried ahead to her car, just a simple Honda, black in color, and opened the passenger side door so that Gabriel could assist Lucifer with climbing in to the front seat.

"Thank you, Gabriel, I appreciate your help." Natalie said as the angel stood straight and shut the passenger side door with his brother safely deposited.

"Of course, Natalie, please take care of him," he responded in kind.

Natalie smiled and gave him a hug, squeezing him tight for good measure, before waiving good bye and climbing into the driver's side of the car. She slid the key into the ignition, blowing a strand of hair out of her face, and glanced at the man in his passenger seat in renewed awe. He was passed out, she observed dryly with a smile, and patted his knee comfortingly.

Her house was not far, so the drive was relatively short, but as she pulled into the driveway she noted that her father was present. His car was parked in the driveway, behind the gated fence of her home and hidden among the old oak trees, she would have nearly missed it had she not had to go around to the passenger side to open the door. He often came to visit, though Natalie wished he would just move in, she worried for him. But he was doing well enough on his own.

He must have heard the news already because he was already walking out the front door to help. Natalie grinned at him from ear to ear before bending over to unbuckle Lucifer's seat belt. "Hey," she said quietly and shook his shoulder gently.

"What?" he grunted irritably and she only laughed.

"Wake up, we're home," she said simply.

He opened his eyes blearily and pushed himself up, setting his booted feet on the ground, before attempting to pull himself into a standing position.

"Wow," her father commented as he came to stop at the sight of him. He pushed his glasses up to get a good look at him and blanched. "When I heard Stan was back, I'll admit, this is not what I was expecting," he exclaimed with a nervous laugh.

Lucifer gripped the door for support and leveled his gaze on the man, golden eyes piercing in the dying light of day. "Mr. M," he greeted with a smirk.

"The one and only," her father responded in kind.

"It's Lucifer," he corrected with the same grin on his face. He seemed to regain a bit of his strength then and pushed himself straight, and held his hand out.

Mr. McAllister took his hand within his own and shook it with great respect, "It's a pleasure to officially meet you."

"You as well," he responded in kind.

"Why don't we get you situated inside and we can play catch up later," he added and stepped back to allow the man to finally shut the car door behind him. Natalie ran on ahead of them as they slowly followed in her wake.

"Dad, I'm going to run a bath for him, can you bring him up to my room?" she called back over her shoulder as she climbed the steps that led up to wrap around porch and front door of the two story house.

"Sure thing," he called back.

Natalie had told her family everything. From the moment she and Lucifer had first met up until his defeat by Michael. She told them of the shenanigans and adventures they went on, the people the fought, the time she died, and Lucifer had convinced Death and Pestilence to bring her back, and so on. Neither her father or her brother wanted to believe her, but things had been settled when her father had come to visit her at home and Felix had stepped out of the kitchen, pretzel stick hanging out of his mouth, wearing purple skin and horns. Her father had nodded and let out a nervous laugh before passing out.

Good times.

Natalie thundered through her house, ignoring all else, and climbed the stairs to her room in a hurry. She threw her door open and immediately went about collecting all of her dirty clothes, threw them in the hamper, before rushing into her bathroom to shove all the make up and general clutter in their perspective places. Once satisfied, she turned to the large Jacuzzi bathtub and turned the hot water on. As she did this, she heard her father's voice from her room and sighed. Assured that she had tidied just enough, she sorted through a few glass vials on her bathroom vanity, selected a two, and uncorked them. The contents were poured out into the steaming water as it filled the tub. Tea tree oil and rose buds. It would help to sooth and relax his tired body, she was sure.

"Nat will have you fixed up in not time," he father was saying as she reentered the room. Lucifer had dropped onto the bed, booted feet plant on the carpet, and elbows resting on his knees.

"Jeez," Natalie muttered, "How long have you been like this, Luce?" she asked in a motherly tone. She crouched down in front of him and rested a hand on his knee. The majority of the angels had come flocking to her as soon as all had been said and done to replenish their strength lost in the battle. She could only imagine how long he had been struggling.

"I was dead to the world for two years, I was only able to start really moving around recently," he admitted with a grimace and nodded at her father, who had rested a hand on his shoulder in silent support before leaving the room.

"That's crazy," she exclaimed in awe. "Then, how did you disappear though . . ." she wondered aloud with a finger to her chin in thought.

Lucifer shrugged and rubbed at his face tiredly. "I have no clue, Kid, but just being around you is starting to make me feel better," he admitted with a grin.

Natalie smiled up at him before standing. She stepped forward, between his knees and wrapped her arms around his head, holding him to her chest. It warmed beneath him and he could feel the energy flowing through his skin and down his spine. It was like he had just slid into that bath she had drawn for him after a long hard days wok outside. His shoulders relaxed in her hold and he leaned into her with a sigh.

"Now get your butt in the bath," she ordered and stepped back, pulling him to his feet by his hand, and pushed him towards the bathroom. "I'll get the bed made up with some clean sheets so you can sleep afterwards," she continued as he stepped forward into the bathroom and unbuttoned the shirt.

"That sounds . . ." he dropped the shirt to the ground with little care, his arms falling to his side like heavy weights, "Amazing."

Natalie chuckled and turned about to begin pulling the sheets from the mattress and pushed the pillows to the floor. She waited until she had heard the water slosh about, and his relieved sigh, before bundling the sheets up and leaving the room to drop them off next to wash downstairs. Once done, she selected a new set and comforter from the nearby closet, next to the laundry room, and returned to her room upstairs. It took her all of ten minutes, if that, to make up her bed and fluff the pillows. Afterwards, she hurried back downstairs to get him a large glass of water for the bedside table should he get thirsty.

She was just pulling the blinds up so that the little nook, filled with pillows and a few books she had been working her way through, could light the room with the glow of the moon when she heard water sloshing about again. One of the large oaks that dotted the property was right next to the window and its leaves glistened with dew in the moonlight. She stared at the scene calmly, peace flooding her heart, as the bathroom door was pulled open and Lucifer stepped out in just a towel.

She grinned cheekily at him, to which he lifted his eyes to the ceiling as if to pray to his father for help, before picking up a pair of sweatpants she had set on the bed. "We'll have to go shopping for you tomorrow until you get all of your mojo back," she explained with a shrug.

Lucifer grunted in tired acknowledgement but took the pants from her hand and returned to the bathroom to pull them on. Once done, he stepped out again to find her pulling the covers back for him. He had to admit, though he had slept since the End of All Days, this would be his first time actually sleeping in bed in almost a century. He sat down as she stepped aside and laid back against the pillows, letting out another relieved sigh. She had amazing taste in mattresses. It felt as if he had laid down on a cloud and when she pulled the heavy comforter over him, he was certain he had melted into a puddle. She was obviously pleased with his notable reaction too, because he heard her satisfied snicker as she tucked him in, and he smirked.

"Don't get used to this," he cautioned and cracked his neck as he readjusted himself on the pillows.

"I won't," she said with a dejected and overdramatic sigh. "You sleep as long as you need, I'll leave my phone here for you, so if you need me you can just call the Hookah Bar and I'll answer," she explained in a more serious tone.

Lucifer's hand snuck out from beneath the covers and he caught her wrist as she was turning away. "Stay," he ordered, his brows knit together in indignation. They hadn't seen each other, practically thought each other dead, for six years and she was going to leave him for work? "Festus can take care of Laila," he continued.

"Hmm," she hummed in thought, staring down at him, how she desperately wanted to join him for a nap. "You sure are persuasive," she observed with a quirked brow.

"It is my forte," he drawled.

"Alright," she threw her arms up in mock defeat before she kicked her flats off and pulled her jeans down. Her sweater fell around her thighs nicely, so she passed up on finding a pair of pajama bottoms, and crawled into bed on the other side. She settled on her side, staring at him, and he turned over to face her as well. She could just see the tips of his horns peeking out through his forehead, yellow in color, as he truly relaxed with her presence. She smiled happily at him and wiggled her hand about under the covers until she found one of his. He was a bit different then she remembered, less angry, but she had a feeling it had to do with the overwhelming exhaustion that had worn him down over the years. She hoped that with some good rest he would get back to his irritable self and they could return to pestering each other like old times. But for now . . . for now, she wanted to pamper him and revel in this loving side of his.

"I didn't know you missed me so much," she said quietly in triumph, her brows wiggling.

He snorted, "I already told you I did, you brat."

That was more like it, she thought with a smirk, and wiggled a bit closer to him. They could worry about finding Michael tomorrow, but for now, she wanted to enjoy the moment. And he did too.

They didn't talk much that night after that, simply enjoyed each other's presence. At one point, Natalie's eyes had grown heavy from staring into his for so long, and she finally fell asleep. She woke later feeling the back of his fingers trailing back and forth across her cheek and smiled tiredly. "You're supposed to be sleeping," she mumbled tiredly only for him to hush her and pull her closer to him to snuggle. She missed his smell and felt the safest she ever had wrapped within his arms.


	3. Drops of Jupiter

When Natalie woke the next morning, she was surprised to find that he had actually fallen asleep and had yet to even wake. He had turned over onto his back in the night while he faced the other wall. One arm was still wrapped around her, as if he had been afraid to let go of her in the night, but she noted that the glass of water was half empty. Had she been able to recall, though, it had been herself who had woken in the night and whined for the water until he had passed it over to her as he was yet to fall asleep. She yawned and slithered out from his hold to close the blinds as quietly as she could, so the morning light did not bother him, and padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

She showered to work out any kinks in her neck and shoulder from sleeping in an awkward position, and washed her hair, before stepping out in a towel to pick out an outfit for the day. The white towel was fluffy and soft, though it was the one Lucifer himself had used the night prior, and fell to her knees wrapped around her chest. She tucked it around her breasts as she opened the large walk in closet in thought. It wasn't going to be too cold out that day, but just enough to get away with wearing a light sweater if she chose to. She hummed in thought as she prodded at tops hanging from the rack. She decided on a dark grey sweater and a pair of black leggings, and was just setting the outfit aside on a chase lounge next to the closet when she caught sight of Lucifer watching her.

A devilish smirk greeted her and she couldn't help the infectious smile that grew across her face. "You're supposed to be sleeping," she scolded endearingly as she grabbed at the towel to keep it from falling.

"How could I possibly?" he wondered aloud as she sat down at the edge of the bed to brush a lock of hair back that had fallen between his horns.

"By closing your eyes," she shot back straight faced and covered his eyes with her hand.

He chuckled and pulled it away, but was loath to move, he had not felt so comfortable in a millennia. He had his Natalie back, whole and in one piece with memories included, and could not imagine how it had all happened. How had he gotten so lucky? How had he managed to survive as the keeper of hell, bringing on the apocalypse, fighting his brother, and losing all that he was, to end up back here with his Natalie? It didn't seem possible.

"Are you still tired?" she asked in a more serious tone.

"No," he answered simply, "I'm just . . . comfortable," he admitted with a shrug.

Natalie grinned, "Well, we do have a few errands we should take care of today if you're up for it."

He groaned in annoyance and rolled away from her, of course she would have already planned out all the things they needed to do, she was a ball of energy. He sighed as she shook his shoulder and stared straight out the window, watching as the tree branches outside swayed in a light breeze. It only then occurred to him that it was all over. There was no longer an impending apocalypse to plan for, souls to contract and take, and he wondered for the first time in a long while what he would do with himself now. He guessed, the only thing he really could do was to follow in Natalie's wake.

"Fine," he snapped and threw the covers back to push himself out of bed. She was subsequently knocked over onto the bed in the process but he ignored her squawking complaints in favor of stretching and letting out a yawn.

He felt fingers trace the scars down his back and it sent shivers up his spine. His arms fell to his sides and he stared down at the plush beige carpet beneath his toes absently.

"Why are these scars so bad?" she wondered aloud.

He froze, muscles growing taught, before he forced himself to relax once more. She didn't know. He had never told her. He simply shrugged, "the fight really did a number on me," he offered lamely.

Natalie hummed in thought but climbed out of the bed soon after, holding the towel in place, and said, "Why don't you explore the house while I get ready?"

Lucifer cocked a brow, "Just don't take three freaking hours."

Natalie pouted and pushed him out of the room.

Lucifer glanced back over his shoulder as Natalie disappeared into the bathroom once more. He eyed the tattoos that lined her arms and shoulders and glanced down at his own that still adorned his. It was strange, he thought as he padded down the hall, as he had expected his to disappear. Natalie had had hers tattooed on her body by human hands, as a human, but his had appeared after he had fallen. They had burned their way across his body, locking his soul down, and sealing the thousands (at the time) of damned souls within him. It had been a suffocating experience and he had panicked. He had hidden himself away for what felt like months while he struggled to come to terms with what he had become. His body had felt so heavy, even when he flew, he had struggled more so than he had as a true angel. Weighed down by his sin and the damned. Now he was free but, due to his choices, he would never fly again.

He rubbed at the back of neck as he peeked into the room next to Natalie's. It was a spare bedroom, he could tell due to the lack of personal belongings, but there was a suitcase next to the bed neatly packed away. He hummed in thought and scowled, wondering who had been staying with her, before glancing into another door to his right. A bathroom. Nothing fancy.

The house was designed to mimic the Victorian style, with a wraparound porch and high ceilings. Hard wood flooring ran throughout the house, with the exception of the bedrooms, which were new carpet. The house still smelled faintly of paint but Natalie's favored shampoos and laundry detergent leant it a cleaner and more pleasant scent.

He descended the stairs slowly, taking a moment to admire the photos that lined the one wall to his right. There were several photos of her father, brother, and one of her mother all smiling. He spotted a few of Laila, Festus, and Kristi even and chuckled at the memories of his manipulation of her. He recognized a few other friends of hers and was glad to see that it looked as if she had made up with the human Michael.

He paused at the second to last step, the wood creaking beneath his feet, and stared at a photo of himself. She had taken it without his knowledge, it would seem, as he was standing at the sliding glass door of her old house. Morning light was streaming in through the trees of her backyard and lit his profile as he stood in his true form, one hand rubbing his neck as he had just done not a few minutes before, as he stared out at the new day.

A part of him was irritated to see that, out of all the hundreds of photos she had forced him to participate in, only one had made it on to her wall. He snorted and stepped down into the dining room. A large table, big enough to seat ten, was set up in the middle of the large room. It was dark cherry wood and complimented the light blue of the walls. A large watercolor painting of a mermaid hung from the wall above the table that, at night, would be lit by the simple metal work chandelier.

"She did not decorate this place herself," he muttered with a quirked brow. She didn't have the skill to design and decorate such a house. He had a lot of questions for her then. He wanted to know what had all happened in his absence and how she had come to be in such good financial standings.

There was no wall that separated the dining room from the kitchen, only a large marble topped bar that was lined with mail and random objects. He didn't spare the kitchen much examination, but he did note all of her appliances were stainless steel and of high quality. Instead, he turned down the hall into the living room where a large couch and love seat barely took up any space, such was the size of the house. It was filled with a large television and bookshelves bursting with so many books and knickknacks he felt he would go cross eyed from looking at it all. Large windows, with a similar nook like the one in her room, was lined with pillows and a few other books tucked away between them.

He walked fully into the living room, intent on taking a seat and watching some TV, but paused at the sight of someone sleeping on the couch. Based off of the short red hair and male figure he could make out under the blanket, it was her brother.

The man was wrapped so tightly in the blanket, he looked like a burrito, and while he _was_ sleeping soundly he was also sleeping soundly in the perfect position for the TV.

Max let out a shout, woken from his slumber by the sudden impact of him hitting the ground. He stared blearily about the room, wondering what had happened, before he turned to look back over his shoulder and shouted again.

Satan himself stood towering above him, hand held above his head with Max's favorite blanket still hanging from his grip, and grinning like a madman.

Max had never seen Lucifer in his true form, with the exception of a shadowed photo hanging on Natalie's wall, and so he was not expecting to find him towering in his full six foot two inches glory above him. Horns jutted from his forehead, ears pointed and lifted up in mischievous delight, and his eyes glowed gold mirthfully. He was huge and muscular and covered in tattoos and he was not at all someone he had expected sweet little Natalie to stand next to much less fall in love with. And he was wearing a pair of his sweatpants. . .

So flabbergasted and fearful was he, that the only thing he could think to say was, "Those are my pants . . ."

"They're mine now," Lucifer stated with a quirked brow and stared down at the human, daring him to challenge him. It had been years since he had been able to enjoy his old ways, to truly feel like himself, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking for a fight.

Max stared up at him, slack jawed, before he snapped his mouth shut and nodded, "They're your pants now."

Lucifer grinned, "Good." With that said and done, he flopped onto the couch and stretched out, grabbing the remote from the side table and hit the power button.

He looked completely at home while Max pushed himself into a sitting position and stared about the living room blearily. He was still a bit lost, due to his sudden awakening, and trying to remember what he was doing there. He hadn't intended to fall asleep at Natalie's house. He had received a call from their father the night before, explaining the situation, and he had come over to offer assistance and become reacquainted with "Stan", but they had already turned in for the night when he had arrived. Natalie usually woke up to get a glass of water or juice in the middle of the night, so he had hoped to catch her then, but had fallen asleep watching a Star Wars marathon on TV.

Where did she even get the sweatpants? He wondered tiredly and scowled. He must have left them there during a previous visit. He recalled the one night he had spent looking for them, tearing his apartment apart in search of them, but had given up. They were his favorite too, they were velvety soft on the inside and thick enough to keep out the cold . . . what a waste.

Max shot a glare in Lucifer's direction but the devil didn't even spare him a glance, absorbed in the television program. He looked at the TV out of curiosity and snorted when he saw that he had chosen to watch Doctor Who of all things.

The sound of someone coming down the stairs had Max perking up from where he sat as Natalie stepped into the living room. She had left her hair down to air dry, wet ringlets dancing about as she moved, and put on a bit of light make up to accent her eyes and full lips. She spotted her brother immediately and grinned from ear to ear.

"I see you've finally met Lucifer," she observed as she moved about the couch and sat down on his stretched out leg. She set her purse and keys down on the seat next to her.

"Hey," he snapped, finally pulling his eyes away from the TV.

"What, am I too heavy for you?" she asked with a pout.

Lucifer scowled at her but wisely chose not to respond and turned his eyes back to the TV.

Max stared in awe, "Satan is whipped," he drawled. How neat was it that his little sister had managed to tame the devil himself.

"Watch it, boy," Lucifer growled, "or you'll find more than your sweatpants missing."

Natalie laughed as Max blanched, "I'm glad you two are getting along." She patted Lucifer's hand that had been resting on the couch in front of him happily. Her phone buzzed from inside her purse and she reached down to grab it while the two men glowered at each other. She read through a text from Laila, asking if she would be in to help that night, and she sent back a quick confirmation. "We have to go shopping for Luce before heading to the Hookah Bar, are you and Anne going to hang out tonight?" Natalie asked while she scrolled through her social media for gossip updates.

"Probably," Max answered with a sigh, giving up on the staring contest with Lucifer, and searching about for his own phone.

"Cool! We are having a movie night tonight, I think Felix decided on Indiana Jones-," Natalie had begun to say but she paused, lifting a hand to her chest as heat bloomed across it. Again, tears sprung to her eyes as newly replenished souls entered into the world once more, whispering their thanks and love, before she let out a sigh and wiped at her eyes.

Max watched with a blank face, used to the event, but Lucifer stared wide eyed as he himself felt the souls reclaim their existence and leave to start new lives. It was like watching birds take flight for the first time. It was beautiful and heartbreaking at once. It had not been so long ago, when he himself had felt the wind ruffle his own feathers and push him higher in the sky while the world reeled below him in a dizzying and exciting game. Natalie had reached for his hand to steady herself and he tightened his fingers around her own still in awe of what he had just witnessed.

"Ugh, God, it's like sending your kid off to his first day of school over and over again," Natalie whined while fanning her eyes in an effort to keep her mascara from running.

Max chuckled good humoredly and stood to stretch, "but yes, we'll stop by tonight," he finished and yawned again. "I'll talk to Anne and text you what time she decides on," he glanced at his own phone then added, "Mark might even come, he's been whining for another date night."

"Oh?" Natalie queried with a satisfied smirk hidden by her hand.

"Stop it," Max ordered curtly before moving towards the front door.

"Okay, okay," she pacified him and stood herself.

Lucifer rubbed some feeling back into his leg before pushing himself up and watched as Max shut the front door behind him. Once he was certain he had left and turned back to face Natalie, she was rummaging through her purse, before he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his arms. She lifted her head to look him in the eye with a smile and he smiled back in return. In that moment, he truly felt that she was the most important thing in existence, and he would die for her without a second thought. He bent down and kissed her just as desperately as they had the day before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled through the kiss with a giggle of glee that only succeeded in bringing a smile to his own face again.

He could not remember ever feeling that happy.

"You're such a marshmallow," she teased and pulled herself out of his arms to head towards the front door. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed before running back upstairs and returning within a matter of seconds. She held up his black shirt for him and he took it with a snort.

"You know I can just make clothes for myself, right?" he asked her even as he pulled the shirt on and buttoned it.

"Oh . . .are you feeling up to your full strength already?" she asked in return.

He straightened the collar in thought, "Of course I am," he assured her. As if to emphasize this, he lifted a foot now wearing his boots from the day before.

She pouted.

Lucifer rolled his eyes.

"We can still go shopping," he said begrudgingly.

"Yay!" she exclaimed and clapped her hands, once again making a beeline for the front door.

Lucifer shoved is hands into his sweatpants, paused upon noticing he was still wearing sweatpants, and with a snap of his fingers replaced them with jeans. Poor Max would probably never see his favorite pair of lazy day pants ever again and the thought caused him to grin as he exited the house in Natalie's wake and shut the door behind himself.

Natalie was taking the shopping spree, less of a trip for necessities, and more as a chane to catch Lucifer up on all of the things he had missed. This was evident in the way in which she continuously yammered on about drama with her friends, her father's brief dip back into alcoholism, and her brother finally finding a boyfriend who didn't mind the fact that he had a female roommate. And while he wanted to be kind for her and listen as best he could, due to how long they had been apart, he had never been one for such gossip. She caught him zoning out on more than one occasion while they flitted from shop to shop in search of a wardrobe for him.

In his defense, Lucifer was just pleased to be back. The years without her, while he had struggled to return, had been dark indeed. It was all a blur of sleeping in woods and stumbling through unfamiliar towns. He had no idea where he had been, how he had gotten so far away, but she had been his single throughout each and every day. To have her at his side, talking up a storm as she always had, was like a balm to his torn and beaten soul. So when she caught him zoning, it was purely because he was lost in the moment, and he was afraid to allow his mind to wander towards darker topics. Topics like his brother and where he was.

"This would be a good coat for you," Natalie murmured aloud in the middle of a store. They had found their way to the mall and the concourse outside the store gates was boisterous and filled with people shopping on the weekend. The store Natalie had pulled him into was quiet, though Lucifer noted, it was marginally because of the prices. He caught site of the coat in question, a black wool trench coat with three buttons and nice collar, and the price tag read three hundred dollars. He snorted.

"You are not buying that," he stated as he pulled it from her grasp and set it back on the hanger.

"What? Why not?" she protested and took it back, holding it to her chest like a newborn child.

"It's expensive," he deadpanned and quirked a brow.

"I mean . . ." she looked at the tag with a smirk, "it is but it's something that I can afford these days."

"I did notice that you were rather well off," he drawled, "tell me, how does one such as yourself come into such funds when you work at a Hookah Bar?" He leered at her in a familiar and teasing manner that only brought a further smile from her face.

"Well, everything is paid for, Gabriel and Raphael have been taking care of me. They got me the house and the car and all the bills get paid for . . ." she trailed off upon noticing the increasingly bewildered expression he wore.

"How?" he questioned, stunned. "Where would they get the money from?" He didn't understand. Angels and Demons they may be, he couldn't imagine they were just materializing money for her use.

"Magic," she answered with a shrug.

"Listen, Kid, that's not how it works," he muttered and rubbed at his face. He would need to corner those two featherheads when he saw them next and find out just how it was they had provided her with everything she could ever need.

"Anyways, all the money I make goes towards whatever I want, and since I have a house of my own there's not much for me to have to save for," she continued to explain while she held the coat up to his shoulders to make sure it would fit. He was so tall and had the broad shoulders to match. Even if he could materialize clothes, it was still much easier to do so when the specific clothes he wanted were already in existence, and it was just a matter of moving matter as opposed to creating it. This she had learned from the angels in his absence. "Also!" she began and shot him with a dignified glare, "I'm a manager and co-owner of the Hookah Bar, and with the way business has been going, I make nearly four thousand a month."

"You're doing good, Kid," he assured her and ruffled her still wet hair with a smirk. He knew her one true goal in life was to own a house, and now that she had achieved it (by making the ultimate sacrifice), she needed to fill her time with things that she enjoyed. She fully deserved it in his eyes. She could do what he could not. She took in those damned souls and, rather than lock them away for all eternity, she was healing them and sending them back into the world to try again. He had been driven mad by his punishment. But she stood in front of him, more bright and full of life than she had ever been, unphased by her task.

He would never leave her side again.

"I know I am," she shot back with a cheeky grin and took the coat up to the register for purchase. He remained where he was, watching as she chatted animatedly with the cashier, and felt his heart ache with nothing but love for the small human who had completely changed his life.

As she returned to him, bag in hand, he offered his arm to her. She took it, wrapping her arm around his, and he took the bag from her with a smile.


	4. Don't you worry child

Later that night they found themselves back at the hookah bar. As it was Sunday, business was a bit slower than usual, so Natalie did not have to do much work. Between Nathan manning the bar, Felix running Hookahs with Laila, and Chellel working the kitchen she had the opportunity to sit with him back on her favorite couch. She had set him up with his own hookah and he had to admit, he rather enjoyed it.

"This is a lot better than the ones they used back in the day," he mused after a few moment of amusing himself with blowing smoke rings and annoying her with clouds in her face.

"Oh yeah?" Natalie questioned and pulled from her own thoughtfully. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, noting the way he had sprawled out across the couch and rested an arm behind her head, it felt right.

"Those were good times," he added and sighed.

"Were they?" Natalie shot back with a raised brow.

"Yes?" he scowled at her but as her expression remained unchanged, he thought again, and looked away. "No, not really, actually," he corrected quietly. Between the fall and when he met her, it was a rush of darkness. Angst and spilled blood, screams, and drowning himself in drugs and alcohol to forget who he was. Did he have fun in the moment? Sometimes. But he regretted everything.

"That's okay," she said quietly with a kind smile. "You are who you are, I just don't want you to feel the need to put on an act for me any longer," she assured him and patted his knee comfortingly. He gave her a kind and tired smile in return.

The moment was broken, however, as Festus himself dropped into the chair next to the couch with a groan. Despite the lack of heaven and hell, demons were still demons and angels were still angels, and they had chosen to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Festus remained as Felix when in public. The purple long sleeved shirt he wore had acquired a few new scorch marks from burning coals that day, Natalie noted with a chortle, but refrained from commenting as the demon stretched in the chair like a lazy cat.

"I never thought I would get a job and feel so worn down after only a few hours of work," he grumbled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Same," Natalie drawled and laughed when he shot her a glower.

"Well, I've been around for a few years more than you and managed to make it without ever really working before," he muttered and crossed his arms.

"So you're a bum?" Natalie questioned mockingly.

While the two went back and forth, Lucifer sat with a bland expression on his face, and pulled from his hookah. The smoke he dispelled was black as ink and blocked either Natalie or Festus from seeing the other. Light flickered from within the cloud, like lightning, before it slowly dispersed.

The two were left to stare in stunned amazement before Festus snorted and fell back into the seat, "Show off," he muttered.

"So cool!" Natalie exclaimed. "How come you didn't do that trick earlier?"

"I couldn't be a show off if it was just you," he deadpanned and smirked when Festus flinched.

"Leader," Festus called suddenly, leaning forward in his seat in a conspiring manner, "What are we doing now?" he asked imploringly. He had been going along with Laila in an effort to have some sort of direction for his life, but he had begun to worry that the longer and longer things remained as they were, the rest of his life would be spent working in the Hookah Bar. And while Laila was an amazing friend and ally, she was no Anthea, and he knew she would one day grow old and pass as all humans did.

Lucifer stared at him with a rather blasé expression, but behind the blank look, he was truly wondering what to say to the little hellion. There were things he had been considering since his return; Michael and his whereabouts, Natalie's existence, the tattoos that had not yet left his flesh, and . . . where their father had gone to. But he knew that was not what Festus was after. Festus worshiped him and all that he stood for, all that he _had_ stood for, and he wanted to see Lucifer in charge. How could he tell him that there was no plan? There was nothing else to be done?

Lucifer clenched his fist, resting along the arm of the couch, and blew out another cloud of inky black smoke that fell and dispersed over them. He was faced with an internal decision, brought into existence by Festus' question, and he wanted to consider the outcomes carefully before opening his mouth. Should he continue to treat his followers as followers and work to build something in the new world, or allow them to finally live for themselves and make their own lives? In the long run, what he would build would not be what he had once dreamed of and would allow demons to live as they wanted regardless. But some of them, some of them were too far gone, he knew. Festus had remained loyal, and in a way, still an angel at heart. But Satan himself had murdered, cheated, and corrupted humans for centuries. As an archangel, he had been able to control himself to an extent while struggling with Hell itself internally. Some of the lesser fallen, he had seen, were not so lucky. They had been lost to the bloodlust. To the greed and madness of humanity, their souls of light forever tainted, and left to go berserk. He had dispatched a handful of them as his reign as Satan but he had never really put in effort to search them out. What to do of them? He was certain hundreds of them still roamed the Earth, killing and taking joy in the destruction of humans. Would it not be his responsibility to subdue them?

Natalie leaned forward at his prolonged silence and tried to catch his eye in concern.

It worked, his piercing gaze turned to her and they shared a moment in silence. She imploring and him searching. What should he do? He seemed to ask her with his eyes alone and she bit her lip in thought. The world was new to them all now, the borders that had kept them all in check destroyed, and the balance all thrown off. Something needed to be done, he concluded, as demons and angels could not simply exist as humans did. Not when there were demons who were too far gone to save.

He glanced back down at the seals, running their length across his arms, and heaved a heavy sigh filled with smoke and frustration. If Natalie was responsible for humanity then should he not step up to care for his brothers and sisters? He was not certain, but he now had a feeling that the tattoos had remained for a reason, and there was only one way to find out.

Lucifer dropped his head onto his fist and finally leveled Festus with a begrudging smirk, equally filled with assurance for having a purpose, and despair for still needing to do more to clean up his mess. "We find Father, and set things straight," he said simply.

Festus stared in awe. He worshiped the fallen angel before him, as he always had, but now . . .now things were different. They had fallen at his command, had brought Heaven and Hell to their knees at his command, and now, now he wanted to pull the strings to set things right. And they would follow at his command. What they would build, Festus was uncertain, but he would follow his brother to the end of time to make sure it was built.

He saw Lucifer then as he never had before. Yellow eyes caught him within their gaze and seemed to blaze through the smoky room unchallenged. His heart pounded in his chest and his palms grew sweaty in a mixture of fear and excitement. Was he attempting to rebuild the world as he saw fit in place of their now absent father? There was no man sitting there before him but a king of demons, adorned in a cloak of darkness and shinning jewels, horns and eyes blazing the darkness daring anyone to challenge him.

"Michael?" Festus questioned with a blush for having allowed his mind to wander.

"In time, I'm sure he will show," Lucifer appeased him with a wave of his hand and turned to look at Natalie again. He scanned her confused and questioning face before allowing his eyes to wander the room. Where should he begin? "First, get word to everyone who hasn't heard yet that I have returned. I'm sure the news will reach Michael soon enough. I need to talk to him, I have an idea that he may be able to help me with . . ." he trailed off in thought but returned to gaze to his follower with a quirk of a brow, "Why are you still here?"

Festus jumped to attention and stood, "My apologies, I'll get started on it now!"

As the demon disappeared through the shadows to spread word of their master's return and possible plans in the making, Natalie reached for Lucifer's hand and pulled his attention to her. "What are you doing?" she asked pleadingly.

"Nothing you wouldn't approve of," he assured her.

Natalie hummed, unconvinced, but leaned back into the couch. "I feel like this is all happening too fast," she drawled with a sigh and pulled from her own hookah thoughtfully,

Lucifer crossed his arms and dropped his eyes to the ground, contemplating her statement and the plan he had just put into action. "Them's the breaks," he grouched and leaned over onto the arm of the couch.

"I'm sure everything will work out, I mean, we made it through the apocalypse, am I right?" she elbowed him with a chuckle.

Lucifer smirked over at her and ruffled her hair, heedless of her whines, and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. The sounds of a gun fight were playing over the sound system while every television in the room played the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones was maneuvering around a plane fighting off a group of Nazis while the two sat in casual silence.

"I see you've managed to crawl your way back."

Lucifer froze, not from surprise or fear, no, this was from pure rage. It roared to life as soon as the first word had slithered into his ear and he recognized the voice. His anger was evident as the can of coke he had been holding was crumpled and the soda spilled out to fizz on the floor. Luckily, the rug had been removed so the mess would be easy enough clean up.

A tall figure in black slid from around the couch and claimed the seat Felix had vacated moments before with a plop. Death himself leaned into the seat and threw his arms along the back with a pleased sigh. He had always enjoyed angering the Devil. He gleefully awaited the day he could collect his soul, but, he had to admit, now that Hell was no more the idea was a little less appealing. But, to be the one to collect Lucifer's soul would be lovely though, with the new system, he doubted he would even need to make the effort.

"Death!" Natalie greeted cheerily and waived at the man who had chosen to appear as human, though he still wore a long black coat over a white button up shirt and jeans.

"How are you, love?" Death returned the greeting with a mocking smile. Mocking, because he knew that in his peripherals, Satan was seething.

"I'm good! Luce finally came back to us!" she exclaimed and latched onto said man's arm with a grin.

"I noticed," Death said with some vexation. "It must have been hard without your wings, really, I have no idea how you even managed to stand against Michael in that final battle. I can understand why it took you so long to return."

There was silence.

While the movie continued to play in the background and the casual chatter of the other guests was not affected, the two sitting on the couch across from death had both frozen, and Death felt that he had made a blunder immediately. A few reasons had brought him to this conclusion, chief among them, to discuss such a topic with the one who had lost said wings was beyond rude. But Lucifer had always brought out the worst in him and it was to be expected of him. The two had never held punches when it came to their banter as their hatred for each other was openly known and made apparent by the constant death threats that they slipped into conversation. However, he did not consider, that the fallen had never told the girl that he had sold his wings for her life. He had given up all that he could for her and her alone. To tell her that would have only broken her heart.

"What?" Natalie questioned quietly, stunned, with a dazed expression.

"You fuck," Lucifer growled and threw the crumpled can at the man.

Death dodged the projectile before leaning back into the seat, eyes cast down to his knees, and bit his lip. It was an awkward predicament he had just put himself in, he realized, as he sighed and rubbed at his face. He could not meet Natalie's eyes.

"What is he talking about?" Natalie turned to Lucifer to ask.

Death pushed himself to his feet and pulled a glass orb from his belt, hanging there by a rope, and set it on the coffee table between the two hookahs silently. From within the black glass, sparks of light flitted about, ignorant of the tense atmosphere outside.

"My apologies," he muttered, "I overstepped." The 'even for us' was silent.

Lucifer stared passed the man, his jaw tight, and a scowl marring his face. While he gripped the fabric of the arm of the couch so tightly his knuckles turned white, his leg bounced in restrained rage. He was struggling not to beat Death as close to a fatal sleep as possible in that very moment.

"Leave," he ordered in an even but dark tone. It sent shivers down Death's spine and he nodded once before making to move around the coffee table.

"No. Stay," Natalie belayed Lucifer's command with a lifted hand.

Death sat back down. Really, when Satan told you to leave his presence, visibly restraining himself from punching your lights out, you did your best to leave as quickly as possible. But when the woman he loved who had recently taken on the role of 'Mother' of all those living on Earth, commanded you stay, there was not much else to be done. And so he sat, fingers drumming out a nervous beat against his knees, waiting for the ax to fall.

Natalie had not looked away from Lucifer but he had yet to return her gaze. "What does he mean about your wings?" she questioned again and reached for his hand that had balled itself into a fist on his leg.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he muttered, "Heaven is no more. I had no need of them any longer as I never planned on returning." He would not admit it to anyone, but in that moment, despite his anger and angst, he had the good humor to notice how damn terrifying she could be. Sure, he had bullied Death into leaving after the man realized he had fucked up incredibly and wanted to bow out. But Natalie had just commanded he stay and he had had no choice but to obey. In the back of his mind, he schemed on how to use this to his advantage, as old habits always died hard.

Death did not look at either of them as the spoke, and tried to to listen, really, he did, but how had nothing but Respect for Lucifer in that moment. The man truly loved the woman sitting next to him and had given up all that he had for her. Death recalled, even as he swung the scythe that severed his wings from his back, he had had a moment of regret himself. They had been enemies for thousands of years and at the removal of the wings that signified his status, he realized, Satan was no more. He was just a normal demon now. Death had kicked his one true enemy while he was down and it had been the deciding blow. It was hardly satisfying.

Natalie bit her lip and rubbed the back of his hand in an effort to coax him to respond. "When did you lose them?" she continued quietly.

Lucifer dropped his eyes to the coffee table and let out a long breath through his nose, his jaw still tense, and cursed. "Leave it be, woman," he warned her but his fist unclenched and he entwined his fingers with hers to physically reassure her that his tone was not meant to push her away.

Natalie smiled sadly, "It's alright, I know you've been through so much since we met, I just want to make sure everything is okay."

"Everything will be," he assured her as his shoulders slumped forward, relaxed after the tension, and the anger was doused by her comforting presence. He could never tell her, it would break her heart, that he had chosen to forsake the chance of him ever returning to Heaven for her life. He was glad she had agreed to drop the subject and he hoped she would forget it all together, but her knew her, and he was certain she would work it out of him eventually. It wouldn't matter to her that heaven was no more, because at that time it had still been there, just out of his reach.

 _It will be?_ Death questioned internally and wondered what it was Lucifer was planning. He lifted his gaze to the nearest television in an effort to distance himself from the two.

Natalie nodded and turned towards the glass orb wrapped in rope and lifted if for inspection. There were so few souls compared to the last batch, she noted, and turned it about in her hands to watch the small specks of light flit about sporadically. Death must have been lonely, she thought with a giggle, since his last visit had only been two days ago. He had offered the souls up as an excuse to visit. She understood though, his job could get rather depressing, and he often visited the Hookah Bar to absorb the lively atmosphere. She found that, without the presence of Lucifer, he was a rather intelligent person. He was a true old fashioned romantic with the wit and cynicism of her generation and the combination worked well for him.

"There are so few," she commented with a knowing smile and glanced at the man from the corner of her eye.

Death rubbed at his head awkwardly and let out a nervous laugh, "I know, I'm pitiful, I just like this place a lot."

"You don't need an excuse to visit us, Death, you are always welcome," Natalie assured him evenly.

"I appreciate it," Death mumbled, a bit shamefaced. He felt guilty knowing that she felt the need to comfort him when he had just caused such a scene between her and Lucifer.

Lucifer watched from the corner of his eye as she uncorked the glass globe and tipped it over into her hand. The balls of light spilled out like marbles, bouncing and quivering as they did, and slowly disappeared within the flesh of her palm.

"Do you have to do that every time?" he asked curiously. He looked about the room then, curious if anyone was watching the event, but was relieved to find that their little corner was very much out of the way. Someone would have to make an effort to look back at them directly due to the placement of the TV's and bar.

"No," she answered distractedly as she watched the last soul disappear. "The souls that Death brings me are special," she mumbled and turned to face him. She pulled her feet up onto the couch after kicking her flats off and looked him straight on with another sad smile.

Lucifer was beginning to notice that she wore them often those days. "Special how?" he queried. From the corner of his eye he noticed Death dropped his head into his hand, covering his mouth as a sort of blush worked its way to his face.

Natalie wiped at her eyes as small tears threatened to fall, "He brings me the ones that are too young to know how to get back home on their own."

Lucifer's eyes widened and he did not know how to respond to her statement. Such a thing had never occurred to him. Angels had always been the ones to attend to the children, to bring them to Heaven, while Death had dealt with those who were old enough to understand their own mortality. But, Natalie was just one person, and Death was just one person, they would not be able to complete the task on their own. So the souls who understood would return to her naturally? While the children had to be led to her by Death.

He pulled her into his arms, deciding on action over words, and rested his chin atop her head. Natalie wrapped her arms around his chest and allowed herself a moment to breath in his smell and feel the comfort of his arms around her once more before pulling away with a huff and another smile.

"It's okay though, everyone gets another go at life now, always," she stated confidently and puffed out her chest with pride. "I make sure of it."

"I bet you do," he said with a snort at her miniature display of bravado. "You're a walking recycling plant, that's what you are," he teased with a smirk and watched as she perked up with a laugh.

"I guess you could say that," she agreed with a snort.

"I see you've grown soft, Death," Lucifer observed with a derisive chortle.

"Like you're one to talk," he shot back irritably and turned his face away.

"Oh? Lucifer hummed mischievously.

"Anyways, Death, I wanted you to stay because you still owe Laila a selfie," Natalie interrupted after the two had bantered for a bit longer.

Death blinked before rolling his eyes and pushing himself to his feet. Laila loved Death, almost as much as she had loved Lucifer when she first heard of him, and had asked for a photo some time ago. Death, however, was generally busy and had been using it as an excuse to get out of taking the photo with her. No longer, though, as Natalie and made it clear he was obligated to comply.

Once Death had left them, she turned to Lucifer with a sigh,"How about we go home for the night? I'm feeling kind of tired and we have to come back early tomorrow to deep clean the kitchens and bathrooms."

" . . .we?" Lucifer questioned with a frown marring his face.

"Yep!" she responded.

Lucifer rubbed at his face before he growled and pushed himself off the couch. "Fine," he muttered and pushed her along towards the door, "but you will owe me something in return."

"Like what?" she shot back as she waved her goodbye to Laila. The goth was happily taking a selfie with a begrudging Death. She really owed that girl a present or a cake or something, she had been so understanding with Lucifer's return. Death's photo didn't seem to be enough payment.

"I'll think of something later," he grouched as she laughed on their way out.


	5. Natural

Gasping, clawing, and racing through the woods. No matter how fast the man ran, chest heaving for air and his legs pumping for all they were worth, he could not escape. The sound of baying dogs and pounding hooves thundered after him. They smelled his blood, smelled his fear, and followed him as easily as if it were the middle of the day.

But the moon was hidden by clouds and rain fell in sheets to the ground through the canopies of the trees above. It would have been impossible to track anything through those woods, the man knew, and that was why he had chosen it as his path for escape. He had spent the better part of the last hour crashing through the foliage, earning several scrape and bruises in the process, but the horde behind him had never slowed. Never once did they fall behind.

He did not expect him to follow. He had not thought that he would come for him so soon at all. He had been sure that he would have the majority of his life left to live before he would return. But he had been oh so very wrong.

He clambered up a hill, heedless of the mud and water that washed down it, as full on panic set in. He didn't want to die. He wasn't ready. He pulled at tree roots as he climbed, sputtering and choking on the mud that slid down his throat, and reached the top of the hill. Behind him, he could hear the deep throaty growl of the beasts. He dared not stop but he needed a moment, only a second, and paused at the hilltop to try and catch his breath in vain.

A howl pierced the air, so frighteningly close, that he lunged into a run immediately. The howl still echoed in his right ear and he swore he had felt the things hot breath on the back of his neck.

He didn't have time to empty his riding boots of the mud as he ran, struggling against the extra weight, and cursed as he slipped in his haste. He tumbled down the other side of the hill, rolling among water and forest debris, and only came to a stop once he had slammed into a small outcropping of rocks. The air was forced from his lungs and he choked. Blood poured from a wound at his temple and the world spun around him. He was certain he had cracked a rib in the fall, as pain wracked his body with every movement.

With shaking hands, he frantically searched for the cross around his neck, it was his last resort. His mother had given it to him when he was a child and he had kept it with him always, though he rarely had worn it, things had changed. He had been driven to desperation and had found comfort in the cross, now, it was the only witness to what was about to befall him.

Suddenly, the howling stopped. All life fell silent in the woods and not but the sound of the rushing rain could be heard. He stared up at the trees, water splashed across his face as he did so, but he had not the energy to move. The birds and the insects had quieted, their usual music gone, and caused the air to feel unnaturally still despite the weather.

A horse snorted, breath fogging in the air, as it stepped into the clearing, each hoof beat was accompanied by the sound of clanking metal. It came to a stop not a few yards from where the man lay, panting for breath, and terror in his eyes that refused to look at the creature. His eyes did not move from the skies above. He had felt each beat through the ground, felt the terror grow with each step, and knew just how close he was to death.

"The man is dead," a deep and cold voice drawled. Lazy confidence seeped from every word and the casual tone only terrified the man all the more. How could one who had just murdered someone and come back to claim their prize be so calm, collected, and utterly bored?

"I have no doubt," the man whispered and rubbed a thumb across the cross with shaky hands. "I had hoped that I would be permitted to live out the rest of my life before being taken," he continued, voice quavering. A cough threatened to wrack his body but he struggled to suppress it, knowing the pain it would cause his possible cracked rib.

"You would put your hope in the devil?" the voice asked smoothly, a hint of mockery, and chuckled. "You poor misguided fool."

The man closed his eyes, steeling himself for the scene that awaited him, and turned his head to take in the sight of the monster before him.

A man with wild dark hair and a wicked grin sat atop a black mount. A splatter of blood decorated his face. Scarlet horns stretched out from his forehead and curled back to be lost within his tangled locks and his eyes glowed yellow in the dark of night. A black coat protected his body from the rain and fell about the horse's haunches where the tattered ends dripped water down to the wet soil beneath. He posed a truly maniacal image. The man had no doubt that the sight of him could put fear into the hearts of an entire army.

The horse was a monstrosity, ram horns grew from its own head and red eyes lit the clearing, and it was coated in blood from past enemies. Armor adorned its head and chest, black metal, that depicted terrified faces of the mortals that had come to an end at its hooves. It flicked its head and snorted, prancing in place, ready to finish him as it had all their previous victims. It had chased down many a mortal without hesitation and slaughtered them at its master's command. It would not stop until a life had been claimed, and then, it would move on to the next prey. It did not know fear, it did not know love, and it had no intention of learning it. Its only desire was to run, heaving for breath in the night, and to hear the laughter of the man upon its back as blood squelched beneath its hooves and decorated its coat.

At its hoofs were two beasts that could only be hellhounds, their eyes the only discernible feature in the darkness. They moved about like living shadows, but every once in a while, their fangs made themselves known as drool dripped from their open maws. Their putrid breath fogged in the air with every pant and growl.

The only thing that held those beasts back, the man knew, was the devil's will alone. He was watching the man with a sardonic grin that cracked his face and caused the man's stomach to roll with nausea. Fangs riddled his own mouth just like the monsters he commanded.

"I wanted to see my children grow," the man whimpered and lifted a hand to cover his eyes as tears welled up and mingled with the pelting rain.

"You contracted Satan himself to kill a man, tell me, does one such as yourself truly deserve to walk this Earth?" the devil asked darkly, and truly, with a hint of curiosity. It amazed him, how selfish and thoughtless humans could be, and he saw them as nothing more than worms. It was obvious in the way he looked down at him from his mount, hungry eyes yearning for his demise.

"That man was nothing but a monster, his sins could never be cleansed, but really, it would have been none of my business had he not raped and murdered my wife!" The man shouted, his throat raw already from the sprint through the woods, and coughed. "He deserved to die!" His body was wracked with pain that he struggled with among the rocks and mud.

The devil frowned, his brows crashing together in annoyance, and pulled back on the reigns to steady the beast beneath him. "It was never your place to make that decision, regardless, you called upon one such as myself to deal with it. It's a pity, if you had had the gall to do it yourself, you may have been pardoned," he muttered sardonically.

The man's eyes widened , staring up at the devil in disbelief, before a sob escaped his throat. If only he had done things differently. If only he had worked with the authorities to set things right as his oldest had recommended. Now, he would pay the ultimate price for it. He had chosen to put his faith in the devil, as he had said, and turned a blind eye to his fellow humans.

"Don't worry," he said as he slid from the saddle and hit the ground with a thud, his boots heavy in the mud, "I'll make sure your children are well looked after."

"No!" the man cried as he shuffled about in the mud to put as much distance between himself and the Devil, "You stay away from them, you monster!"

The devil locked him with a cold gaze and stopped just over top of him, "Disgusting," he muttered and reached down with one gloved hand to grasp the man's throat. With little effort, he lifted him into the air and scowled. "You are not worth my time," he drawled and snapped the man's neck before he could say anything further. The body fell limp within his hand and the cross dropped to the mud where it was swallowed up and never seen again. Now empty of any soul, the corpse was soon to follow.

Lucifer stared down at the frozen face of terror, dirtied with mud, and snorted. "Jasper! Jekyll!" He snapped and the two hellhounds lunged at the body, tearing into the flesh with their rotting fangs, and scuffled over the meatiest parts. Their growls and barks echoed through the raining night while Lucifer watched with a curled finger held to his lips. The horse whinnied behind him and pawed at the ground irritably.

"Hush," Lucifer ordered and brushed a hand across the creatures snout, "you had your turn with the last one."

The horse snorted and turned its head away, red eyes gleaming in the night, as still fresh blood dripped from its flanks.

Blood splattered the muddy forest floor as organs spilled from the cadaver and were quickly torn to shreds by the hounds.

The devil laughed.

Green eyes shot open in the dead of night. They took in the familiar bedroom, the fan spinning lazily overhead, and Natalie let out a quivering sigh as she attempted to reign in the rampaging emotions within her chest. Her stomach was roiling with panic, fear and disgust. It was all so wrong.

Shaking hands pushed the heavy comforter back as she sat up in bed and turned to take in the figure that sat at the window, chin propped on a fist, as he watched the clouds rolling past the moon. He was lost in his own thoughts, but Natalie had an idea of where his mind had gone, as she had just witnessed it herself.

He was different back then. He had been wild and untamed, filled with destructive glee, and ready to take the lives of any that dared call upon him. Anything to cull the herd of humanity and prove to Heaven how much of a mistake humans had been.

Natalie gripped the blanket as her shoulders shook in fear or sadness, she could not tell, but the quiet sob that just barely managed to break the silence of the room drew his yellow eyes to her like magnets. He stared at her in confusion, not understanding what had woken her and left her in such a state, before his recollections resurfaced and he blanched. His gaze dropped to his own hands and he clenched them into fists while a frown marred his face.

She had dreamt of his past again.

He felt like he was infected. Tainted. Dirty. As if he had no right to be anywhere near her. She who was too pure for even the evilest of men to withstand. He lifted a hand to his eyes in an effort to block out the reality of what he was, what he had done, and listened to her quiet sobs without comment. She had a right to cry. She had seen what he had been. What he truly was. It was enough to ruin anyone's day let alone hers, the one who loved him.

He jumped when he felt her hand on his arm and he dropped his hand to stare at her stupidly. How could she possibly want to be anywhere near him? He was nothing more than a beast himself. But the tears that streamed down her face said otherwise. Those tears were shed for him, evident in the sad smile they passed by on their journey, and left him feeling hollow. He wanted to hope but he was afraid he had lost the ability to do so a millennia ago.

"Did you make sure his kids were taken care of?" she asked through her tears.

Lucifer stared at her, wide-eyed, and nodded once.

"Good," she sobbed and wiped at her eyes before throwing her arms around his neck.

Dumbly, hesitantly, his arms came up to wrap around her shoulders as she cried. He could not process her reaction, did not understand her in the slightest, because any sane person would have run. Michael himself had caught a glimpse of hell and coward before him. But all she asked was if he had followed through on his word.


	6. Waiting for The End

A man named Jeffrey sat at the bar that night. He was there alone, not because he was friendless, but simply because he needed some time to himself. Between work and classes, he was feeling a bit stretched, and had felt a night out alone at a bar would help to ease his mind. He had chosen the Hookah Bar, as it was a cheery enough environment that did not force one to be social. He was having a nice time, in all honesty, but the bartender was a bit of a dick.

Brown eyes glanced up from over his glass of shocktop beer and landed on the grump behind the bar. He was tall, tan and covered in tattoo, with slicked back black hair. It seemed a permanent frown marred his face, but every once in a while, his expression would grow soft as Natalie passed.

 _He must be sweet on her_ , he thought with a snort. He had met Natalie a year ago upon his first visit to the bar and she had made sure to catch up with him every return visit. That's what he liked about the Hookah Bar the most, they welcomed everyone back like a good friend, but didn't push for information on how they were doing like close friends or family would. It was a good balance. Nathan was the usual bartender and was quite good at engaging with those at the bar, so Jeffrey had no clue why they would replace him with the intimidating man that stood before him now. It seemed he had a soft spot for Natalie, at least, so he couldn't be too bad.

He stood now, wiping out a glass with a rag, eyes shut against the sound of the chattering crowd.

Jeffrey swirled his drink thoughtfully. He poured the perfect glass of beer, at least. He did not know what prompted him to open his mouth. Maybe he did want to be a little social that night after all, but he found himself taking a breath before he asked, "When did you start working here?"

"Two days ago," he answered curtly, continuing to wipe the glass.

"True," Jeffrey responded thoughtlessly and set his glass down, "You Natalie's boyfriend or something?"

The wash rag paused and yellow eyes landed on him with an utterly bored but challenging stare, "What's it to you?" he drawled.

Jeffrey shrugged, not wanting to show an ounce of intimidation, "You smile every time she walks by, just wondering."

The hint of a blush blossomed across his high cheekbones and he looked away with a hum, "You could say that."

Jeffrey snorted in good humor, "You guys are perfect together." The bartender quirked a questioning brow in his direction and Jeffrey shrugged, "She's little and sweet, you're big and mean, it works."

The bartender let out a bark of a laugh at that, "She'd tell you otherwise."

"I'm sure," Jeffrey responded in kind with a laugh. "She could talk terrorists into tea."

"And more," he added quietly and set the glass down to pick up the next to be dried.

Jeffrey wasn't sure what he meant by that but he took a sip of his beer to fill the following silence as someone claimed the seat next to him. A woman with long black hair and a sickeningly thin frame, wearing a tight dress to show off said frame, set her purse down at the bar and drummed her fingers against the polished wood.

The bar tender seemed to refuse to acknowledge her existence.

She cleared her throat.

His eyes opened to give her a good long look before he refocused on the glass in his hands. "What do you want?" he asked rather rudely.

The woman scoffed but wore a teasing grin, "A glass of wine is what I want."

"You're bad for business, go somewhere else for your wine, and leave me be," he responded irritably and set the glass down to pick up another.

Jeffrey cringed, wondering how he could feel so comfortable in turning away a customer who had just sat down and done nothing wrong, as far as he could tell.

"That is rather harsh, Lucifer, I only came to say hello," she shot back in a quiet but comedic tone.

"You aren't one for pleasantries," he shot back with a straight face, yet to grace her with so much as eye contact.

"Leave," he commanded curtly and threw the rag onto the counter behind the bar, "I'm tired of you and Pestilence's manipulating ways."

"He's so mean," the woman turned to Jeffrey as if in search of support.

Jeffrey looked rather like a deer in headlights and did not know how to respond without taking sides, but had she just called the bartender Lucifer?

"No." Lucifer deadpanned, "Don't pull others into this. Leave before I sick Natalie on you."

The woman paused and scowled before glancing about in search of the strawberry blonde in question. "I just want to talk," she muttered with a pout.

Lucifer heaved a sigh and lifted his eyes to the ceiling before crossing his arms, "About?"

"Your brother," she said simply and rested her chin on intertwined fingers with a smirk.

"For the love of-," he grouched, "Which brother?"

"Michael."

Lucifer froze, leveling her with a contempt look, "If you are trying to pull something I'll snap your neck without hesitation."

Jeffrey dropped his eyes to the glass before him with tense shoulders. Ah, he realized too late, that the man before him was Satan himself. It was rather strange, never had he thought the Devil would serve him a drink, but in the new age anything could happen. To be fair though, it had been rumored that both he his closest brother had perished in the apocalypse.

"I would never-," she began but fell silent when met with his glower, before she continued, "anyways, I heard rumor that he was in Alaska."

"What?" Lucifer questioned irritably and braced is hands against the bar as frustration bloomed to life in his chest and limbs.

"Yes, they say he's completely retreated within himself and refuses to speak with anyone now. They say he's broken," the woman whispered over the bar, causing Jeffrey to lean over, ever so slightly to catch what she was saying.

"Who are 'they'?" Lucifer asked darkly. His eyes never left hers.

"My informants remain anonymous, always," she said and leaned back in the bar stool with crossed arms. She would say no more, it had seemed.

"Great," Lucifer shot back sarcastically, "Thank you for the tip, now go!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Natalie's voice broke the tension as she joined Lucifer behind the bar, resting a calming hand on his arm, and glanced over at the woman curiously. "No need to take that tone here," she chastised him gently but turned to face the woman with a quirked brow, "And you . . ." she began while the woman uncrossed her arms with a shamefaced expression. "You know better, I told you not to come in here during business hours. If you want your wine that badly, you can visit me at home," she lectured.

"My apologies," the woman mumbled before pushing herself off the bar stool and grabbing her bag. "I'll see you guys around," she added cheekily before departing.

"I can't stand that woman," Lucifer growled and watched as she left.

"Meh," Natalie shrugged, "She's just _starved_ for attention." She elbowed him with raised brows, attempting to get a laugh out of him.

Lucifer stared down at her before he thumbed towards the door, "You get out too."

"Oh, come on, that was so good!"

"No, it was bad, and you know it," Lucifer muttered as he pushed her out of the way to reach for a rack of glasses under the bar.

Jeffrey chose to leave then, a bit in shock at the revelation that Natalie was dating Satan.

* * *

Lucifer dreamt that night. It wasn't his first time dreaming but it was the first time he had dreamt since he had fallen. With Hell inside of him, he no longer had the ability to sleep, for if he did close his eyes to rest, the damned within him would threaten to take control. He had learned to not give in to his body's exhaustion. But now that everything was over, and he had finally returned to Natalie, he had allowed himself to truly rest.

He dreamt of blood and searing pain. He dreamt of the feel of Michael's hands, gripping his wings, and his foot on his back. Bone shattered and joints were pulled apart as flesh split and blood flowed. And it all pooled beneath him, sticky and red, and threatened to swallow him up as it rose up to his hips. He was going to drowned in it, just as the souls within him had, he was never more certain of anything in his life. It poured forth from his own wounds and filled the void that was his mind with so much red. His heart pounded within his chest and it hurt, it beat against his rib cage, desperate to break free from the evil inside.

"You've always been a monster."

He spun about, blood sloshing at the movement, in search of the source of the voice in the darkness. Eyes opened all around him, glowering down at him like hungry beasts, ready for their first meal in a millennia. They glowed with malice and he felt them move in, like wolves drawn by the smell of blood, and he couldn't breathe.

"How could you?"

He looked down and it was the face of his brother, Michael, staring up at him from the pool of blood. It wore an expression of disgust and betrayal as a sickly and skeletal arm reached out and grabbed his throat in a vicelike grip. The thing wearing Michael's face struggled to pull itself out of the blood using Lucifer, it climbed up despite his struggling, and revealed an emaciated body with rotting flesh and broken bones. Once it had perched itself upon his shoulders the beautiful blue wings, now stained and weighed down with the blood of Lucifer, seemed to give up their hold on the things back. They let out a sickening squelch as, one by one, they fell back into the pool at Lucifer's chest.

Lucifer stared at them, wide eyed, and shook his head. He lifted his arms out of the blood, backpedaling to get away from the wings as they rotted away and sunk beneath the surface before his eyes. "Why are you doing this?" he babbled and tried to push the thing off of his shoulders.

"You took everything from me," it whispered and reached for Lucifer's back with a grubby and clawing hand. It plunged its fingers into the open wounds where his wings had once been, poking and prodding in search of something.

"I have nothing left to give," Lucifer cried as the fingers dug at the muscle and flesh, searching for what he could only assume were more wings.

"Nothing?" it asked in confusion.

"I've given up all I had," he answered stoically. He was doing all he could to fight the desperation and frustration that was swelling up within his chest. To fight the pain as his flesh was ripped asunder again and brutalized.

"No," it whispered, "You haven't. You're still alive . . . and so is she."

"No!" Lucifer cried as he reached up to pull the thing from his shoulders, but he found nothing there. His eyes glowing brightly in the dark bedroom, revealed that he was no longer trapped in the nightmare, and dropped shaking hands into his lap. He had sat up in bed in his haste to escape. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving, and could not shake the feeling that he was still deep within a pool of blood, the weight crushing him and threatening to pull him under.

"What happened?" Natalie sat up and mumbled while rubbing at her eyes.

Lucifer turned his eyes to her, stunned by the night terror, for it couldn't have been anything else. He reached back with one arm to feel at the scars where his wings had once been and found them bleeding anew. The wounds had not been open in six years, yet fresh blood dripped from his fingers as he pulled them away to examine them.

"I. . .," he attempted to speak but no words came. He did not know how to explain what had just happened, or how, for that matter. "I don't know," he muttered and dropped his head into his hands. Had he not had enough punishment? Was carrying Hell itself within him not enough? No, he guessed not, as Heaven had fallen thanks to him. Anything he got, he realized, he well deserved.

The dream did not scare him, as he had witnessed far more gruesome things in his long life and had even been the cause of most of them, but the thing had worn his brother's face and wings. And it had mentioned Natalie. And nothing could touch Natalie. He would not allow it.

"You're bleeding," Natalie observed through a tired haze that was quickly retreating.

"It's fine," he assured her and threw the covers back to push himself out of bed. "I'll clean up," he continued absently, his mind still racing with the meaning behind the dream.

"We need to change the sheets," she added and crawled out of bed herself to pull the stained sheets off the mattress.

Lucifer grunted and padded to the bathroom, wiping sweat from his brow, and peered at his reflection in the mirror. Horns had grown from his forehead and his ears drooped with exhaustion. Knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge of the porcelain sink. He needed to find Michael. Famine had said he was in Alaska, hidden away from everyone, but the dream had left a nasty taste in the back of his throat. He dared not even think of what it meant.

He jumped when he felt a cold cloth touch his back, and glanced back over his shoulder to see Natalie, she smiled up at him as she wiped away the excess blood from his back.

"Go back to sleep," Lucifer muttered tiredly but allowed her to continue her work, "Don't you have work tomorrow?"

Natalie shrugged as she moved around him to rinse the washcloth out in the sink and ring it dry again, "It's not that hard of a job."

"It's hard enough," he countered with a snort and turned to take the washcloth from her hands.

Natalie pouted but crouched to pull a first aid kit from under the sink, "I will once we get you patched up."

Lucifer let out a suffering sigh but turned back around to let her wipe the wounds with an alcohol swab and slap some bandages over them. She was not too gentle, but that was his fault for irritating her, he supposed. He winced as she literally slapped one final bandage over his back before she pushed the kit back under the sink and dragged him to bed.

They faced each other under the blankets, both lost in their own thoughts, but their eyes never leaving the other. It had been so long since the End of Days, it sometimes felt unreal that they had found each other again, and they needed a moment to take it in.

"What was your dream about?" Natalie finally asked, feeling the need to whisper in the hush of night, now that they had shut the lights off and crawled back into bed.

Lucifer took a moment to answer, searching her eyes, unsure if he wanted to tell her. But the confident and caring way she watched him, seeming to search his very soul, assured him that all would be well if he did. "It was about Michael . . . I think," he mumbled and rubbed at his face frustratingly. Her brow quirked knowingly and he sighed, of course she would want further details. "I don't remember it clearly but I was in hell, all the souls were there and waiting to pounce on me, and my wings-," his jaw tensed as a flash of pain ripped through his back at even the mention of them. "Michael had just ripped them out, and there was blood, so much of it, I thought I was going to drown. And he wanted more. But I had nothing left to give. His wings fell. And then I woke up,"

"I'm so sorry you went through that," she whispered and reached out to grasp his hand in her own. "Were you scared?" she asked.

"Ha," Lucifer let out a short laugh and grinned at her, "I'm the Devil, girl, not much truly scares me." He fell silent for a moment and looked at their intertwined hands before tightening his grips on her fingers and saying, "Still, I was distraught, because I wanted to help him and finally set things right. I felt trapped and like the only way I could truly atone was to die . . ."

Natalie tightened her fingers in return and bit her lip, wishing she could do more to help him work through the emotions he was feeling.

"But I can't do that," he stated simply with a dramatic sigh of longing. He flopped onto his back but turned his face towards her with a smirk, "I have you now to look after."

Natalie snickered triumphantly and patted his hand, "We'll think of something. You said he was in Alaska?" She watched as he nodded once and she hummed in thought, "Then I guess we need to take a road trip."

"Oh no," Lucifer said with a snort, "We'll fly, I'm not sitting in a car for two days."

Natalie pouted but smiled soon after, "Fair enough."


	7. Walking the Wire

The next day was a rush of events. Natalie and Lucifer had decided to act as quickly as possible to find the missing archangel and had purchased plane tickets for the next flight to Alaska and booked a reservation for a hotel closest to the airport.

Natalie sat at the kitchen bar, a steaming mug of coffee next to her, while she reviewed all their information on her laptop. She was still wearing her pajamas, as it was only seven in the morning, but she had already packed a suitcase full of clothes and necessities. Their flight would leave at two PM that day.

She hummed in thought and reached up to scratch at her head, hair piled atop her head in a messy bun, and stretched. The bar stool was not the most comfortable of places to sit for extended periods of time but she did not want to sit on the couch for fear of falling asleep. As she recalled the exhaustion she felt, she reached for the full cup of coffee. It was filled with enough cream and sugar to hide the bitterness to her preference and soothed her tired body as soon as the first sip slid down her throat and hit her stomach.

Lucifer stood by the sink, leaning against the counter with crossed arms, staring off in the backyard through the window. He wore his new favorite pair of sweatpants and a simple white v-neck shirt. Natalie had requested he not walk around shirtless as she often had guests and did not want anyone to walk in and find his hulking demonic form bare before their eyes.

She smiled at him as he zoned out the rest of the world, lost in his own thoughts, and only pulled her eyes away when her phone rang.

She reached for it, noting that it was Laila calling, and lifted it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey," Laila greeted from the other end. She sounded tired but cheery enough. "I heard you were flying out today."

"Yeah, Luce wants to find Michael as soon as he can," Natalie explained as her printer whirred to life in her office across from the living room. It was spitting out all their flight and hotel information.

"I don't blame him," Laila mumbled quietly. "Anyways, I'm calling because Felix really wants to go . . ."

Natalie grinned and pulled the airport website back up on her laptop, "It looks like there are still plenty of seats available at the moment."

"Oh, that's good," Laila let out a relieved sigh.

Lucifer had pushed himself away from the counter and stood on the other side of the bar. He had yet to uncross his arms as he stared down at Natalie with a raised brow. She waived him away for a moment as Laila continued.

"I don't like the idea of him going without me," she added quietly. Natalie heard a door close from the other line and assumed she had stepped out onto the patio of her apartment for privacy.

"What about the bar?" Natalie questioned, kicking her feet below the stool, and took another sip of coffee.

"Chelle offered to step up and manage for a few days, and Nathan agreed to cover all the shifts this week, and Gabriel actually said he would be happy to help . . ."

"Hmm," Natalie hummed in thought. "I think that should be enough. It's still early in the week so there shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Awesome," Laila said quietly and let out a relieved sigh.

"Buy tickets now, I'll send you the hotel information, and you can meet is at the airport at noon," Natalie rattled off the information before she hung up the phone and set it down by her laptop. "Laila and Felix are coming with us," she stated with a grin.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, "Of course they are."

"Hey, don't forget this is a search party," she admonished lightly, "More eyes equals more ground covered."

Lucifer ran a hand through his hair, taking the opportunity to stretch at the same time, and sighed. "You're right," he answered begrudgingly. "But they're getting their own room, I don't want to deal with Festus' spiky moods all day every day," he stated with a shrug as he pushed himself away from the bar and went to browse through the fridge for something sweet.

"Are you sure you just don't want a hotel room with me to yourself?" Natalie shot back with a laugh. She was just happy to have more friends along for the trip. She had turned back to her laptop and missed Lucifer pause, still digging in the fridge, and scowl.

"Honey, if I wanted 'to be alone with you', I've already had all the opportunities I would have needed," he grouched and moved up to the freezer in search of ice cream.

Natalie quirked a brow but did not look away from the laptop as she typed up an email with links to the necessary websites for Laila. "Bluster all you like, Luce, but I know you're just a shy boy deep down," she said absently. "You know you want this," she added after hitting send and shutting her laptop.

A tub of ice cream was dropped onto the bar in front of her as Lucifer stared down at her with a sardonic grin. She met it with her own cheeky smile.

"Would you prefer the counter or the bed?" he asked as he braced himself against the bar and rested his chin on a fist.

"Hmm," Natalie lifted a finger to her lips in thought.

The doorbell rang.

"Neither," she answered and jumped out of the stool to answer the door.

Lucifer scowled again and let out a tortured sigh.

"Raphael!" Natalie greeted excitedly.

The angel stood in the door with a bag full to bursting with snacks. He wore jeans and a purple plaid shirt that complimented his eyes nicely. He offered her a kind smile as she stood back to allow him entrance into the household.

"Good morning, Natalie, I got your message. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner," he explained as he stepped in and slipped out of the brown leather shoes he had decided on that day. He walked back into the kitchen and set the bag on the bar next to the melting tub of ice cream.

"What message?" Lucifer grouched with a raised brow as he pulled the bag towards him to dig through it. They were all sweets. Raphael had brought him a peace offering, of sorts, it would seem.

"She asked me to check on you," he explained and spun his finger about, instructing Lucifer to turn around. "She sent me a text explaining what happened," he finished and waited. Lucifer stared at him irritably and shot Natalie a look of annoyed betrayal before turning around with a huff.

"She patched me up just fine," Lucifer muttered as his brother moved around the bar to poke at the surrounding flesh of his scars.

"While Natalie is excellent at improvising in the moment, I would like to make sure there are no underlying issues," Raphael explained. He peeled the bandages away to look at the twin wounds and sighed. He placed a hand over one and paused. It was still bleeding a bit and beginning to scab, but it was still raw and pink, and he was certain it caused the fallen great pain. He could not help but notice the absence of his wings. He could not feel them beneath the flesh, nestled closely to his soul, as he could all others. His chest tightened and a slight frown marred his otherwise calm expression.

"Don't," Lucifer said darkly, a fist resting atop the bar, knuckles white.

"My apologies, you're right," Raphael murmured, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"What doesn't matter?" Natalie spoke up curiously. Her eyes bounced between the two as she tried to piece together what they were speaking of.

"Nothing," they answered in unison.

The brothers shared a look, Raphael's apologetic and Lucifer surprised. Gratitude washed across the devil's face before he turned away and opened the tub of ice cream as a form of distraction. With the spoon he had grabbed beforehand, he scooped out a bit and dropped it in Natalie's still steaming coffee. She took an appreciative sip, reveling in the added flavor of the vanilla ice cream with a content sigh.

The room was awash with colorful light. Daylight seemed to dim in its wake as Raphael held his hands over each wound stoically. Lucifer let out a relieved sigh as the pain ebbed away and warmth spread from his back to reach the end of his toes and tips of his fingers. His shoulders slumped forward and he leaned heavily on the bar.

Yellow eyes lifted to Natalie's green and she gave him a small smile before lifting a finger to tap his nose playfully. He gave her a tired smirk in return.

Raphael dropped his gaze to Lucifer's back with a knowing smile.

* * *

The airport was hectic when they arrived. It was the middle of the day and several flights were coming in just as others were leaving. Natalie was certain she had never seen so many people in one building before in her entire life. Lucifer hated the crowds and stuck close to her side, positive she would slip away if his eyes left her for even a second.

They found Felix and Laila within minutes of their arrival. Both women had brought a single suitcase with them while Felix had chosen to bring just a backpack with a few necessary belongings – cigarettes and the like – while Lucifer brought nothing.

Natalie waived cheerily upon their approach but everyone else seemed to be stuck in a tired haze. They were bordered onto the plane within the next hour and were in the air before anyone could work up the energy to really start a conversation.

Felix was just happy to be in Lucifer's presence and Laila was happy to see him happy. He could survive on his own, but after Anthea, Felix had always felt the need to have another with him. Laila had been the best replacement he could find. She was just as quite, kind, and composed as Anthea had been. Though he was often assaulted with pangs of guilt for this thought process, Laila had assured him it was fine, as she often missed her wily brother too. They would share a secret smile then and move on to another topic.

Felix had slipped a pair of earbuds in to listen to music as the plane took off while Laila looked out the window. They had argued over who would get the seat, but the woman had guilted him in to giving it up for her.

Natalie and Lucifer sat in the row ahead of them. Laila could just see Lucifer's head over the seat, leaning back against the head rest, while Natalie's popped up now and then as she turned around to speak to them. Laila could not help but feel as if the two complimented each other well. Natalie was energetic while Lucifer was stoic. Natalie was the peace to his anger. Lucifer the wary to her blinding faith in people. She was certain now, that without the other, neither would survive.

Lucifer glanced down at Natalie, about half way into the flight, to find that she had fallen asleep. Her soft snores were proof enough. She had held his hand as the flight took off and never let go but now his grip was the only thing keeping their finger intertwined. He rubbed a thumb across the back of her hand and slid down in the seat a bit more to provide better positioning for her head that was currently resting on his shoulder.

He ran and hand through his hair, thoughts racing through his mind, and tried to stave off memories of the last time they had traveled together. Natalie had been close to death, sick beyond any help, and he had lost her. He swallowed the distress that roiled within his stomach and dropped his arm onto the armrest heavily. He'd never thought he would fall, again, but for a human. Yet here he was, the world changed beyond recognition but still functioning thanks to her.

His grip on her hand tightened briefly.


	8. Vagabond

A/M: I guess it's a bit late now but the title of each chapter is the song I listened to while writing it. Most of them are by Imagine Dragons. Additionally, the next few chapters take place in Alaska and I literally have no knowledge of Alaska, so if anyone notices anything off, let me know! Enjoy~

They arrived in Alaska a few hours later. It was late in the day and at least ten degrees colder. Natalie had chosen to wrap up in a scarf as they exited the airport and ordered a ride over to the hotel. They had chosen to stay along the coast, per Natalie's request, and were able to acquire a hotel that had a nice view of the icy waters. Low mountains dotted the horizon to their right from their window.

With Natalie's funds, they had negotiated a suit, instead of staying in two separate rooms. A lavish living area and kitchenette separated their respective rooms. Natalie had felt that this would provide them more convenience to keep in contact and discuss the situation without having to navigate the hotel or worrying about prying ears.

Lucifer stood at the large sliding glass window that looked out onto a wooden patio and the harbor below. The glass radiated the cold of the night as the sun traveled towards the horizon at a quickening pace. His breath fogged up and blurred the scenery as Natalie rolled her suitcase into the suit and towards their shared room.

Felix was sitting on the couch, flipping through the television stations, while Laila changed into more comfortable clothes. It was too late to actually start their search, so they had all agreed to sit tight for the night and rest. Laila had offered to order room service for everyone once they had settled in.

Natalie stepped into the bedroom and took a moment to familiarize herself with the lay out. It was pretty simple, with a queen bed filled to bursting with pillows and a plush comforter, a dresser and two night stands, with a sliding glass door that opened up to the same patio. A small hall led to the closets and bathroom where she found a large claw foot bathtub and a standing shower.

"Nice," she exclaimed and turned back towards the bed to unpack her suitcase. She had brought a few changes of clothes, nothing too fancy, but an assortment of other things had been packed away as well; a book, her laptop, a spiral notebook for notes, a pillow from her own bed, and some make-up and toiletries. As she was sliding the empty suitcase under the bed to avoid clutter, Lucifer stepped in and glanced about, bored.

"I've stayed in better places," he said and dropped onto the bed with a yawn.

"I'm sure you've stayed in many a grand palace," Natalie agreed with a chuckle and took a seat on the bed next to him. "But if this isn't good enough for you, you can always sleep outside," she prodded with a snicker.

Lucifer grunted and rolled away from her, "Even I know this is better than sleeping outside, girl."

Natalie snorted and glanced about the room. The carpet was still relatively plush and was a deep blue in color and the drapes by the window matched. The furniture was dark brown while the walls danced with floral wallpaper. Even she could see that it was horribly decorated, but the bed was comfortable and that's all that really mattered to her. She was certain Lucifer didn't care either way.

Laila knocked on the doorframe as she entered wearing a black tank top and rubber ducky pajama pants. "Did you decide on what you wanted to eat?" she asked while holding onto the menu that could be found littered about the suit.

"Oh," Natalie exclaimed, having forgotten, before she picked up another that was on the night stand. She scanned through the list quickly. "I think pan seared salmon sounds really good," she stated. "Do you want anything, Luce?" she asked and glanced back over her shoulder at the man who had yet to move. His scars were still present, having been too deep for Raphael to heal, and caught the light in such a way that made it hard for her to look away.

"Nah," he grunted and pulled a pillow under his head to get comfortable. "I'm not in the mood," he added.

Natalie shrugged at Laila who gave a thumbs up before returning to the living area to place the order. Felix could be heard grouching about the lack of television channels to choose from.

Lucifer rolled onto his back with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling as Natalie stood to pick out a set of comfortable clothes to wear that night. She shuffled about in the drawer she had put all of her night clothes in before pulling out a grey tanktop and black pajama shorts. She threw them over her arm as she padded into the bathroom to take a quick shower. The flight had left her stiff and the warm water would do her some good.

He watched her go before closing his eyes against the low lamp light in the room. If he listened closely enough, he could just hear the sound of the waves in the harbor, rolling and crashing onto sand. His ears twitched as he listened and he slowed his breathing to match the steady rhythm. The moon shone down on the water, sending dazzling lights throughout the night, to dance with the stars hanging from the velvety black sky.

The waves rushed through his minds eye and their sound reminded him of something else. The wind in his ears as he fell and distant fighting. Battle cries echoed by hundreds of his followers as they charged towards the angels.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this."

Michael's voice was distant, but Lucifer could see him clear as day, standing before him with arms crossed and a frown on his face. He was all righteous anger, but below that, just beneath the surface of the façade he wore, was true anguish. It washed through him as the waves did, ebbing, but constant. His eyes had glistened, in the light of the dying sun, but no tears had fallen. Not that Lucifer had noticed, anyways, he was too busy struggling with his own emotions. Anger, hatred, betrayal. His own concoction of righteous fury that yearned to battle Michael's own.

"If you had learned to use your own brain, for even a second, it wouldn't have had to," he had shot back as fire burned around him and roared to life at his will. Claws had grown from his fingers and fangs had bit through his lip as rage engulfed him.

"If you had just suffered in silence . . ." Micheal whispered as his eyes dropped to the ground. "We could have pretended . . ."

Lucifer had frozen in disbelief. Michael had wished him to pretend? To continue suffering while the others had acted as if nothing was out of the norm. He had wished that he and his followers play along regardless of their feelings and emotions?

How dare he?

"Life is not a game, Michael, you who love humans so much should know that," he roared, just as the fire around him did. "Just because our lives are eternal does not give you the right to play with us!"

Michael stared, wide eyed, before he pulled the hilt from his side and brandished it before him.

Ah, he paused in his recollection, he _had_ seen tears on his face that day. It had been just before he lunged at him with a death cry.

"I really needed that shower."

Natalie's voice pulled him from his memories and he opened his eyes as she reentered the room, toweling her hair dry, and sat back down on the bed. He turned over on his side to watch her as she ran the towel through her hair one last time and dropped it into her lap with a sigh. She glanced back over her shoulder with grin. "Whatchya thinking about there, lover boy?" she teased.

Lucifer snorted and propped his head up on a hand, "the fact that you still owe me for making me clean all those hookahs and that disgusting bathroom the other day."

Natalie chortled and flung the towel over him, "I didn't make you do shit, our contract ended a long time ago, you did that of your own free will."

"Our contract may have ended but you have much control over me, woman, use it wisely," he muttered as he pulled the towel from his face and dropped it to the ground behind him.

Natalie rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed beside him, heedless of her wet hair, and rolled over to look him in the eyes. "Same," she responded quietly.

Lucifer paused, scanning her face for a moment, before he said, "You've grown."

"You think so?" she asked and glanced down at her breasts.

"Not like that," he scowled at her as she laughed.

"I'm just kidding," she snickered and slapped his shoulder.

He breathed out through his nose and rubbed at his face before dropping his hand back to the bed to smile endearingly at her. "I'm trying to say that you've matured, I can see it," he explained and settled back into the pillow. "You're just as silly as ever but . . . you've grown, emotionally," he struggled to explain as she watched him with curious and consuming eyes. He faltered as her gaze never wavered and he was momentarily lost.

"On that day, Luce, I thought I had just watched you die," she spoke, finally, and watched as her words nearly broke him. He did not express things, rarely reacted to such emotional confessions, but his eyes widened just a fraction and his shoulders tensed. She was all too aware of him and his mannerisms. She had dreamed of them for six years. "And then I was broken," she admitted quietly as tears started to swell, "and I worked to rebuild myself for six years. I tried to stay the same, to be as close to the person that you had loved, but some things change."

She had been fawning over him ever since he had returned to her, he realized, but his selfish ass had never bothered to ask if she was okay. He pushed himself up on the mattress and dropped his head into his hands as the anger and frustration, directed at himself, surged forth and growled. "Fuck!" he spat out through grit teeth. This feeling as was all too familiar. The rage and self loathing reared its head as it never had before.

No. This wasn't about him, he ground his thought process to a halt and turned about to find her pushing herself up. She had been about to reach for him and he grabbed her outstretched hand is his own and pulled her into an embrace

"I'm sorry, kid, I never meant it to happen," he mumbled into her hair and lifted a hand to her back as he felt her shoulders shake. "Nothing like that will ever happen again, there are no more 'End of Days' planned, I just need to find that idiot," he assured her as she hiccupped in his shoulder.

She pushed away from him just enough so that she could grab his jaw, "No more," she ground out and shook his head back and forth.

"Yes, no more," he mumbled and grabbed her wrist to pull her hand away.

"Oh man," she breathed and wiped at her eyes. "It's okay, you're back, and I feel better for having been able to say something. Thank you for listening," she explained with a smile.

Lucifer stared down at her, a bit awed that he had been able to set things right just by pulling his head out of his ass for one second, and nodded. "Thank you for sticking with me, Natalie," he said quietly. In all honesty, if it weren't for her, he didn't know what he would be doing with his life in that moment. Probably would have gone back to causing further mayhem with no goal in mind, no Heaven to defy, just trying to fill his life with _something_. But she gave him the inspiration to do more.

There was a distant knock on the front door followed by Felix calling out, "Foods here!"

"Yes, I'm starving!" Natalie exclaimed and rolled off the bed and sprung to her feet with a stretch.

Lucifer had decided to join them as they sat about the coffee table to eat. The three who had gotten food sat on the floor, while Lucifer sprawled across the couch with the television remote in hand and flipped through the stations lazily. Casual conversation flowed between the four as the night wore on and they waited for exhaustion to kick in and send them to bed. They were all too excited to fall asleep normally, wanting to find the missing Michael as much as the next, and knew that normal sleep would not come. They planned on staying up till midnight, at the least.

Lucifer had settled on watching a horror movie, knowing that Natalie enjoyed them, but the acting was horrible and he only devoted partial attention to it. Felix watched with his arms behind his head as he leaned back against the couch on the floor, his forgotten fork hanging from his mouth, while Laila seemed to zone completely watching the gore and subpar directing.

Natalie was texting someone, Lucifer noted about half way into the movie. She repeatedly glanced at her phone and picked it up to type out a response. He wanted to know who it was she was texting, as far as he was concerned, everyone she needed to be in contact with was in the room. He watched as she moved, crossing her legs and leaning on the coffee table with phone in hand, before he opened his mouth.

"Who are you texting?" he asked, though he did not mean for his tone to come off as being as accusatory as it was.

Natalie looked back at him, confused at being torn from the movie, before glancing back her phone. "Oh, I was texting Famine," she explained, "I wanted to see if she had an exact area for us to look in. I sent the text out early this morning but she just now got back to me."

Lucifer snorted, "Don't waste your time with her."

Natalie smirked, "Are you jealous?" She teased but shut her mouth when he leveled her with a sardonic stare. "In any case," she continued, "she said to try Angoon. It's an island across the . . .river? I guess." She continued lamely, not quite familiar with the area.

"We'd have to take a ferry over," he muttered with a sigh.

"Yay," Felix drawled in mock enthusiasm, but his eyes never left the TV.

"She also said that her informants were distant friends of yours. . .?" Natalie continued with a questioning look.

"What?" Lucifer said, confusion plain on his face with scrunched brows. He could not recall what she would have meant. Had she meant fellow demons? He hadn't heard of any being in the area. They typically stuck to subtropical regions and highly populated areas where the most havoc could be done. It wasn't impossible, he guessed, but highly unlikely. Regardless, he would investigate during their search.

Later that night, he and Felix stood on the patio, cigarettes lit and glowing in the darkness, while they blew out clouds of smoke and fog in the cold night air. Neither one of them spoke but were comfortable in the silence as they stared down at the harbor. The city was mostly quiet by that time and the girls had gone to bed so that they could wake up at a decent time the next day.

Felix pulled the cigarette from his mouth with a sigh and glanced down at it thoughtfully before shooting a look towards his leader. Lucifer leaned on the railing, the cool breeze ruffling his hair, while he gazed far out into the distance, lost in thought. Felix could not recall ever seeing the fallen so calm and relaxed. It felt like a precious moment, and though he blushed at the thought, he vowed to file the image away.

"She really missed you," he said, breaking the silence moments later, and watched as yellow eyes lowered to the ground far below.

"I know," he responded after another moment of silence. He took his own cigarette from his lips and cracked his neck before bringing it back to take another pull.

"She cried," Felix added, "For a really long time." He looked down at the railing and flicked some dirt away as he continued, "she never even dated or saw anyone. She was just lonely for so long, Laila was really worried for her, and I was too."

Lucifer glanced at him from the corner of his eye and let the cigarette hang between his fingers over the railing as he thought. The old him would have snapped at Felix, questioning why he felt the need to even open his mouth, but he knew better. The new him recognized this for what it was: Felix was venting his own feelings through Natalie.

"I'm not gonna lie," he finally spoke up, "I fully expected to die that day. I didn't intend to, but I knew it was likely since . . ." he trailed off but threw a thumb back in the direction of his missing wings. "I think I _did_ die," he muttered and lifted the hand with the cigarette to scratch at his forehead with a thumb. "But something brought me back . . .I remember everything leaving me. The seals were broken and I felt like everything I was, was being drained away. Then I blacked out, and came to miles away with no memory . . ." he shrugged and pulled from the cigarette in thought. "But her voice was in my head, telling me what to do and where to go, until everything started coming back to me, bit by bit, and I managed to find my way home."

Felix hung his arms over the railing, looking down at the parking lot of the hotel, while he listened to Lucifer's tale. He hummed in thought.

"Things have changed now, Festus, I'm not the same as I once was," he muttered. "My goals have changed, and if you want to leave because of that, it would be understandable."

Felix tapped a foot against the wood of the patio floor in thought. "It's only natural," he answered finally, "that things would change. The entire playing field was leveled. We're all on the ground now, all trying to figure out what to do with ourselves . . ." he let out a sigh and ground his cigarette out on the railing. "I will not leave you, Master," he finished.

Lucifer chuckled and took one last pull from his own cigarette before flicking out over the railing and stretching his arms back behind his head. "Good, I need all the help I can get," he said and ruffled Felix's hair before reentering the hotel room through the sliding glass door.

Felix remained, and lifted a hand to his head with a slight blush.


	9. Hallelujah

The sun rose early the next morning and its light stabbed at the back of Natalie's eyelids just as merciless as any other morning. She groaned, loathe to move from the comfort of the covers, as she knew already that the room and grown cold over the night. She felt she would never be able to shake the bitter iciness that had settled in her bones.

Blearily, she reached for the lump of warm flesh next to her but had to stretch her arm further than expected. Lucifer had woken before her, it would seem, and was sitting at the edge of the bed watching the sunrise. Her fingers danced across his back in search of a hand hold to grab for warmth.

Lucifer silently reached back for her hand and pulled her into a sitting position as he turned on the bed to face her.

Natalie whined and rubbed at her eyes before she lifted them to his irritably, "Whyyyyyy?" she called.

Lucifer smirked before he pulled her face to his and kissed her. He lifted a hand to the back of her head as she practically melted into him. She deserved all the love he could give her for what she went through.

"Get ready, we'll head out in an hour. I rented us a car and I'm going to go pick it up," he instructed her as he stood. With a snap of his fingers he was wearing jeans, a red button up shirt, and the black coat she had bought him the week before. He spared her one last look, noting that she was still dazed, before he smirked and left the room.

"Where are you going?" she heard Felix ask from the living room.

"To get us a car," Lucifer shot back.

There was the sound of hurried shuffling as she assumed Felix was pushing himself off the couch and hurrying after his master to go with. She giggled, glad to see that Felix was happy to have him back as well, before she crawled out of bed to get dressed and ready.

Feeling refreshed and ready for the day, she stepped out of their room in black leggings and a green sweater, and was just pulling on her brown coat when Laila exited her own room with a yawn. See was wearing jeans, a black sweater, and a deep maroon trench coat.

"Aye," Natalie greeted with finger guns, "looking good my goth sister from another mister."

Laila snorted with a roll of her eyes, followed by a chuckle, as she padded into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee brewing. "I take it you slept well," she mumbled through another yawn.

"Decently," Natalie agreed and slid into a bar stool in the kitchen. "I'm just excited to find Michael so that the two can reunite," she exclaimed, touching her two pointer fingers together to mimic the two 'reuniting' as she had put it.

"What, are they gonna fuse?" Laila asked with a quirked brow.

"Yes, to form, Super Archangel!" Natalie played along and laughed as Laila snorted with laughter.

"Alright, I'll get my phone ready to take a picture," Laila continued and set a steaming mug of coffee in front of Natalie.

The woman took a grateful sip from it before pulling her small bag from off the counter top next to her. It was a leather little backpack she had taken to using. She liked the fact that she had free hands and didn't have to worry about it slipping off her shoulder. She pulled a tube of lipstick out of one of the pockets and slid it across her lips after she had finished her cup of coffee.

"Twenty bucks says Lucifer shows up with a convertible," Laila voiced after she had taken a long sip of her coffee.

Natalie chortled, "It wouldn't surprise me. But I think he likes muscle cars."

"Hmm," Laila hummed in thought. "I could see that."

The two left the hotel room and made their way through the hotel. The vintage eighties designed carpet led them all the way to the front door, it had even joined them in the elevator, and Laila was quite glad to escape the monstrosity once they stepped out into the chilly daylight. They waited only a few minutes, as Felix had sent Laila a text to inform them of their return, before a car pulled up in front of them.

"You owe me," Natalie chirped as Felix climbed out of the front seat of an old Pontiac Catalina. It was black and well taken care of, though the tires could use a change, Natalie noted with a smirk. The demon pushed the front seat up and climbed into the back while Laila stepped forward and crouched to follow. Natalie pushed the seat back and slid in with a chuckle.

"This is yours," Laila said as she offered a twenty dollar bill from between the front seats.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Natalie responded and slipped the twenty into her pocket as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Never pictured you as the gambling type," Lucifer commented from the driver's seat.

"Never pictured you as the driving type," she shot back and met his amused expression with her own.

"Racing gets the blood pumping," he explained with a shrug and put the car into first gear. It swung out of the parking lot, smooth as any automatic, and slid into the light alaskin traffic with little effort.

"Alright," Natalie said with raised brows, "Color me impressed."

"The usual shade?" he prodded and earned himself a light slap on the shoulder.

"Quit flirting," Felix grouched and pointed towards a sign that provided directions to the harbor ferry, "Eyes on the road!"

"Backseat driving is rude," Laila commented lightly and smirked as Felix sputtered and sat back with crossed arms.

The drive was quick but the ferry ride not so much. They spent what felt like hours bobbing up and down on the river headed over towards the island. The car, along with two others belonging to other passengers, sat parked on the deck of the boat while the four wandered about inspecting the surroundings.

"We should go on a cruise one day," Natalie spoke up as they were backing up off the ship in the car. Laila looked a little green.

"Cruises are fun," Lucifer admitted with a grin, "Lots of alcohol and gambling with poolside service."

"Oooooh," Natalie clapped her hands, already making plans in her head, and ignorant of Laila's torture.

They had planned to check all the abandoned households and cabins on the island, which, for such a small population was quite a lot. Lucifer was able to acquire the necessary information with a trip to the only local library in the small town located on the island. With some lengthy searching through public records, while Laila browsed through the library's selection of gothic literature, and Felix and Natalie bickered over comics, he was able to find all registered buildings on the island.

The librarian was quite through with their group once Lucifer had snapped Natalie's notebook shut and pushed himself out of the chair he had remained stationed at for the hour they were there. Natalie and Felix continued to argue over whether Marvel or DC was better, while Laila trailed behind them wishing she had a library card, and they exited the building.

The day was a blur of knocking on doors and peering into windows, inspecting properties that looked as if they had seen recent activity, in search of the missing archangel. They saw many trees and wildlife on their adventure and Natalie was quick to photograph everything she could. Several selfies were taken as well, as she was determined to document the fun they were having while on the hunt. Lucifer looked just as broody as ever in all of them. She could tell his frustrations were mounting after what felt like the hundredth cabin offered up no results. In reality, it was the fourteenth one they had inspected. She patted his shoulder as they returned to the car.

It was as the sun was beginning to dip down that they finally made some headway. It was the last cabin they would be able to search that day, as the ferries stopped running once night fell, and they pulled up through the long dirt road tiredly. It had been a long day and everyone was a little cranky as they exited the car and continued up the road on foot. A small lake was to their right, and the two story cabin was situated next to it so it could look out over the water during sunrise and sunset. A wooden staircase led up to a deck where the front door could be reached.

"This is a nice place," Natalie commented as they climbed the creaking stairs and shuffled onto the deck. Cream colored paneling covered the house and faded red shudders had been left open. Peeking in through the windows, Natalie and Laila could confirm that it had been recently cleaned. There was no dust or clutter inside and the fireplace still had embers glowing within it.

Lucifer wasted no time in kicking the door in with a booted foot.

"Michael!" he called into the house and waited for a response. Upon hearing nothing, he stepped in and examined the surrounding area irritably. The front door lead into a large living area and the kitchen was to the left. There were no sounds of anyone present as they filed in through the front door. Natalie looked a little peeved at Lucifer for having kicked the door down while Felix was unphased and nearly bored. Laila strolled in last and allowed her eyes to roam the room thoughtfully.

"I don't think anyone is here right now," she observed calmly.

"No, but someone was, recently," Lucifer muttered darkly and cursed. "I can't believe I'm going through so much effort for this asshole," he grouched and stepped back onto the deck. His eyes scanned the surroundings woods while the three continued to shuffled through the house behind him. He crossed his arms, debating on whether or not they should return tomorrow when they had more time, before he caught sight of something below.

"We'll find him, Luce," Natalie assured him as she finally followed him out onto the deck.

Lucifer was quiet as he tapped a finger on his arm, clearly chewing something over in his mind, before he mumbled, "maybe sooner than I thought." He descended the stairs quickly and walked around to the side of the deck, inspecting the ground as he went.

"What are you looking at?" Natalie called down after him and leaned over the rail to watch as he crouched down to inspect a bit of dirt.

"I think I know who Famine was talking about," he called up with a laugh.

Natalie blinked, surprised to hear such a laugh from him, and followed him down the stairs as Felix and Laila stepped out of the house. They followed her, with no other direction to go, and they crowded around what looked like a large paw print curiously.

"No waaaaaaay," Felix mumbled in awe and glanced up at Lucifer in surprise.

"A wolf?" Laila questioned dryly, unimpressed.

"No," Lucifer snorted and brought two fingers to his lips. A piercing whistle split the air and soared through the sky, echoing as it bounced off a neighboring mountain and across the lake. They all waited in silence, casting curious eyes at each other, wondering just what Lucifer was expecting to happen.

It was a few minutes later, Felix had crouched in the dirt and had drawn a circle around the paw print out of boredom, when a chilling howl finally answered. Felix jumped to attention while Natalie reached for Lucifer's sleeve and Laila crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip. Their breath fogged the air of the dying day.

Lucifer's head turned to a cropping of trees far off to their right. From the darkness of the underbrush, two forms separated just as black as the dark woods, and darted through the field at an alarming pace. Red orbs gleamed in the night, seeming to absorb the remainder of the dying day light, and overtook their minds. Fear bubbled up in the pits of Natalie and Laila's stomach, unwilling and unnecessary, as neither would have felt fear with Lucifer at their side in any other situation.

"Get behind me," Lucifer instructed quietly. Laila did as instructed while Felix remained rooted to the ground.

But the black figures, bounding across the grass, ate up the distance as their forms slithered in and out of shape. They looked like wolves one second, then a mass of billowing black miasma another, but their eyes never once left the figure of Lucifer. Slathering jaws and wet gurgling pants broke whatever silence may have fallen over the night.

And they just kept getting bigger as they approached.

Another howl pierced the growing night as the monstrous forms passed them, smelling of smoke and brimstone, and looped back around.

Natalie was glued to Lucifer's side as Laila stepped closer to Felix. One of them loomed over Natalie, its maw open. She made the mistake of looking it its eyes, red and pulsating, with a black slit pupil.

The whole world seemed to go black except for those eyes and a cold seeped into her very bones as she nervously clutched at the fabric of Lucifer's coat. Her knees trembled and her legs gave out beneath her as the smell of blood and rotting flesh assaulted her nose and she saw Hell for the second time in her life. She could feel the black water rising up over her ankles, knees and thighs, and it was suffocating. And she was dead. She could feel her flesh rotting away before it had even eaten her like she so knew it wanted. And those hands, the ones that grabbed at her, bruising her skin and laughing all the while, were pulling her down.

"Enough!" Lucifer barked, glowering down into the red orbs that seemed to pull whoever so happened to catch sight of them in to drown in despair. The hulking form paused, a rumbling growl growing in its chest as its breath washed over Natalie and its hackles pulled back to reveal dripping needle like fangs and a forked tongue. Fur stood on end as its tail and the miasma that surrounded it lashed about its form. "What did I say?" Lucifer growled back and grabbed at its throat, pushing it away with a grunt.

The behemoth was pushed back a foot and its ears flattened against its head and it retreated with a whimper. The other one moved in to takes its place. This one, however, butted its head into Lucifer's chest and snuffled in his clothes.

Natalie watched with wide eyes, tears streaming down her face, and shivered. She had never wanted to experience Hell again. Never wanted to recall the memories that she had tried desperately to push away. The terror she had felt as those monsters had clawed at her, climbed over her, and pushed her to the brink of sanity.

"Jasper," Lucifer murmured and grabbed at its bottom jaw, lifted its head to eye level, and scratched his chin with a grin. "You've always been the more reasonable," he observed casually.

"Are those . . ." Laila whispered in awe, "Hellhounds?"

"More like Hell Brats," Lucifer muttered as he pushed Jasper away, his forceful snuffling threatening to knock him over.

Jekyll barked in the background where he had continued to pace, forked tongue lulling out of his maw to hang lazily.

"Natalie," Lucifer called and dropped into a crouch next to the woman who had yet to move. "It's alright," he murmured and rubbed at a shaking shoulder. Natalie rubbed at her face in an effort to ground herself back in reality.

"I know, I just . . ." she mumbled, trying to rationalize what she had just experienced.

"I know," Lucifer murmured, "Hell may be gone but the things it birthed still roam the night." He watched as she nodded and tried to stand, but her legs still shook. He hummed and turned to the Hellhound who had retreated, "Jekyll," he called.

Jekyll paused in his pacing and cocked a curious head.

"Come," he ordered and the hound huffed before padding towards them. His paws were massive and thudded against the ground as he came to a stop before the two and flicked an ear. "This is Natalie," Lucifer explained. He took Natalie's hand and lifted it to the hounds snout. A nose the size of a baseball sniffed at the pale palm before his tongue slipped out and wrapped around her wrist once and retreated.

"Ew," Natalie muttered with a distant chuckle.

Jekyll's ear flicked again and he butted his head into her chest, knocking her flat onto her back, and laid down, resting his head over her torso with a huff.

Natalie laughed and Felix rolled his eyes.

"Hello," Laila called quietly to Jekyll and held her hand in front of his nose for his inspection. His tongue slipped out just as it had before.

"Hello," a rumbling voice echoed in their minds and Laila grinned.

"You talk?" Natalie exclaimed and reached up to scratch at the underside of the hellhounds throat. His leg kicked out in delight and he rolled over onto his side, his head now resting on her legs, and she continued her ministrations. "Aww, you're just a big softy too, aren't you?" she crooned as she sat up.

"Yes," he answered simply, causing the rest of the group to laugh.

"Alright, enough," Lucifer grouched and clapped his hands. Jekyll paused in his panting and pushed himself back onto his paws while Jasper padded back over to them from where he had wandered. "Jasper, Jekyll, bring me Michael," Lucifer ordered.

"Body?" Jasper questioned, his voice was a quiet hum in comparison to Jekyll's deep rumble.

"Alive," Lucifer answered as he crossed his arms. They had always been a bloodthirsty lot and often needed clarification when instructed.

Jasper's ears fell and he snorted but pushed Jekyll into a run as they bounded off into the woods back along the dirt road they had walked up. They watched the two bounded down the road before they veered off into the brush in synchronized grace.

"So cool," Felix whispered as they left.

"They're more of a hassle than they're worth sometimes," Lucifer muttered with a sigh and kicked at the dirt. "You got a cig?" He wasn't feeling all that in control at the moment and the small vice would provide him a steadying hold on the present. Natalie was staring off after the hounds, a hand waving them off, before she rubbed her arms to work out the feeling of grabbing hands and black water.

Felix handed over a pack from his pocket absently, his eyes never leaving the spot where they had disappeared into the woods.

"How'd they get so big?" Natalie asked curiously. She had seen them once before, in a dream of Lucifer's memories, and they had been about the size of an average wolf. Now they were as big as horses.

"Girl, they barely have corporeal forms, they can be whatever size they want," he answered, looking at her as if she were stupid, and lit a cigarette with a wave of his hand.

Natalie stuck her tongue out at him before she pushed herself to her feet and dusted off her leggings with a sigh. "We should make a fire and roast marshmallows," she stated after she had finished dusting herself off. There was a fire pit with a few chairs littered about off by a tree next to the road. Only one of the chairs had been used recently, it would seem, as the others were covered in tall grass.

"Do you even have marshmallows?" Felix asked irritably.

"No, but I saw some in the kitchen," she answered with a shrug.

Whether it was Michael himself who had purchased the items, the previous owners, or some other benefactor, the kitchen of that cabin was stalked. Felix himself had run up to claim the supposed marshmallows but returned with a case of beer and enough ingredients to make twenty s'mores. They rejoiced at the find as Lucifer begrudgingly piled the wood into the fire pit and brought a steady flame to life simply by flicking his cigarette into it.

Natalie sat in a chair, wrapped in a blanket she had pilfered from a cabinet, and cracked open a beer for herself with a content sigh. Lucifer stated that the hounds would be gone for a while, as he had not even sensed Michael's presence, so they made themselves comfortable.

Lucifer had pulled up a chair and kicked his feet up on the side of the fire pit, heedless of the heat, and dropped his head onto a fist.

"Hey, Felix, you want _s'more_?" Natalie asked drunkenly some time later. She wiggled an unopened beer can under his nose with a giggle.

"That's not even a s'more," he grouched but took it from her regardless, cracked it open, and shot gunned in it fifteen seconds flat.

"Nice," Natalie exclaimed.

Laila watched the two, her eyes drooping from the warmth of the fire and alcohol in her belly, and yawned.

It was two AM when they heard the familiar howl rip through the night again and a hulking figure came bounding out of the darkness and circled the fire, searching for Natalie, before he plopped down behind her panting. Jekyll glanced over at Lucifer, who was watching him with a quirked brow, and let out a huff before turning his head as he brother approached in the night.

"I know you two are bored out of your mind out here, but I'm not keeping you here. You can't keep coming to badger me when you want some entertainment," a voice could be heard complaining as the owner rounded a group of trees and stepped out onto the road. "Oh."

Michael stood, an arm full of wood in hand, wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He paused upon sighting the group huddled around the bonfire and tightened his grip on the wood, glancing down at his booted feet, before continuing his trek towards them.

Jasper continued to prod him forward, nuzzling his back impatiently, before he finally gave up and bounded towards Lucifer. He slowed as he approached and sat down at the fallen's side loyally and watched Michael as he walked the rest of the way on his own.

He came to a stop next to the pile of already gathered firewood and dropped his load on top. He dusted off his hands as Lucifer turned his head to look at him lazily.

"Look what the dog dragged in," he drawled.

Neither moved from their place as Michael stared at Lucifer, eyes wide and disbelieving, and the tension between the two overtook the other three in their drunken stupor. All eyes turned to Michael and watched as he clenched his fists and took a step forward. He was struggling to muster the strength to speak, too overwhelmed to process the sight of his brother, alive and well before him. Not when he had searched through the rubble for days, fighting back sobs, and struggling with his own physical wounds as well as emotional.

Natalie pushed herself to her feet and approached Michael, pulling his eyes away from his brother, and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "I missed you, Michael," she murmured in his shoulder. It was obvious he would need some help to make any headway in the situation. He was already shaking.

The archangel dropped his eyes to the top of her head, feeling the warmth of her tattoo radiate through his chest, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a daze. "I missed you too, gingersnap," he mumbled absently. She looked older from when he had last seen her, but he knew, by the feel of her very soul, she was eternal and shining bright. Her presence steadied him a bit and he rubbed her back appreciatively.

"Come, come," she beckoned him as she stood back and pulled him by the hand towards Lucifer, who had yet to move from his seat by the fire.

Michael came to a stop before him, frozen by the glowing gaze Lucifer leveled upon him, and bit his lip. Many emotions were held within that piercing glare; anger, betrayal, disappointment, and distrust chief among them. Michael swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and opened his mouth, hesitated, and then said, "Lucifer . . ."

Lucifer cocked a brow but his stare did not diminish in anger.

"I . . ." he swallowed again and rubbed a hand through his hair as tears began to pour from his eyes, "I'm sorry." He drummed his fingers on his jeans as his blue eyes dropped to the ground and he continued, "I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm sorry I did not exercise my free will to argue in your favor. I'm sorry that I only ever saw you as a monster from that day on and didn't try harder to put a stop to it all. I'm so sorry," he rambled as the tears fell and he struggled to regain control of his emotions. He fell to his knees before Lucifer and clasped his hands together and wished things could go back to how they were when they were younger and still friends. Brothers. When it had been all smiles and laughs and memories. Before the fall and the drama and fighting, the promises of death and the apocalypse.

Lucifer lifted his eyes to the stars above and heaved a sigh. "We were both wrong," he finally said in a heavy and quiet tone.

Michael paused in his sobs to listen as he heard his brother's voice for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He never though he would miss the sound of his brother's beautiful voice, but oh how he had, he had yearned to hear it again everyday for the past six years. Even if it were insults thrown his way.

"We chose to take the extreme sides rather than stand on equal ground. I was wrong to believe humans were nothing and you were wrong to assume they were above all else. We pushed each other to the point of no return when, in reality, humans just are, neither higher or lower, just different," Lucifer explained and dropped his fist to rest on the armrest of the chair. "Father may say otherwise; but I've come to understand that every angel, fallen, and human alike has the ability to do good and evil. The only difference between us is our length of life and physical capabilities, but even those can be overcome," he continued and level his gaze on Natalie. She had yet to move from where she stood, still wrapped in the blanket next to the fire, watching with watery eyes.

"Lucifer . . ." Michael whispered as he dropped his head, shoulders heaving with quiet sobs of relief.

Lucifer sat forward in his chair and placed a hand on the back of Michael's head, pulling him closer so he could lay a kiss upon his forehead, before he sat back in the chair and watched his brother regain control over his emotions.

"Aww," Natalie cooed from where she stood and Laila smiled in the firelight. Felix rolled his eyes and fell back on the ground as the world spun drunkenly around him.

"Things will be different from now on and we need to sit down and discuss how best to handle this new balance," Lucifer explained. "There is still evil in the world and there is still good, but we need to come up with a new way to manage it, and I'll need your help."

Michael paused and stared at Lucifer, confusion melting into awe, "Right, of course, we need to find Father." He did not comment on the admiration that swelled within him for his brother and how, not for the first time, he felt that his brother would have made a better leader than he if only he hadn't been so different.

Lucifer nodded once as his eyes drifted to the fire in thought.

"Natalie may need to take the reigns on this one, I'm afraid," Michael whispered quietly with a sad smile.

"What? Why?" Lucifer asked suspiciously. He had expected Michael to take the task on himself to find father and lead the way towards the new era. Lucifer hardly felt he himself was appropriate when it had all come to an end due to his actions. He had hoped Michael would step up while he quietly melded into the background to deal with rogue demons and the like that still wandered the Earth.

"I . . ." Michael began but he dropped his eyes to the ground again and lifted his hands to cover his face.

"You didn't . . ." he mumbled, eyes wide and distant, as the nightmare from nights before bubbled up in his mind's eye. Those blue wings coated in blood and sinking below the surface to never be seen again.

"I did," he sobbed into his hands. "I didn't deserve them, I thought I'd killed you, and Natalie was so broken, I couldn't take it," he cried.

"Michael," Lucifer growled and lifted his hands to his head, overwhelmed by what the man before him was saying. "What have you done?" he groaned and pushed himself out of the chair to stand and paused, paced a few steps, before he turned about to face Michael again. "You fucking idiot!" he cried and kicked the chair he had been sitting on moments before into the night.

Jasper and Jekyll growled, their fur standing on end at their master's display of rage, and tensed.

"Hush," Natalie murmured and they whined, dropping to their stomachs with lowered ears.

"I'm so sorry," he choked out and dropped his head to the ground, not caring of the dirt, and revealed the blood stained fabric on his back. It was obvious he had tried to bandage it himself, as the bleeding was splotchy and the gauze could be glimpsed through the light shirt, wrapped with shaky hands.

Lucifer had had the dream just as Michael had taken action and his back had bled as Michael's had then.

"Do not bow before me!" Lucifer warned darkly. "I am not the one you need ask forgiveness of nor am I in any position to give it," he whispered harshly and looked away. It was true. Michael may now be considered a fallen, but Lucifer was so much lower than that, he was completely broken. He was the devil. No angel should ever bow to him for forgiveness. Angels were righteous and just, protectors of humanity, they could never wrong the Devil as anything they did to him was just punishment. It was law.

"Then who?" Michael whispered into the ground beneath him, not daring to lift his eyes.

Lucifer threw his hands in the air, "Natalie, Laila, humanity, and Father himself! . . . but not me," he ended quietly. Not after all that he had done.

Michael attempted to lift his head but Lucifer had stepped forward to hold it down. He reached for Natalie and gestured for her to sit down in front of him. She did as was instructed, hesitant and unsure, but calmed when Michael assured her it was alright in a muffled voice.

"You have chosen to punish yourself unjustly, without orders, and the world will suffer greatly for it," Lucifer muttered and stepped away from his brother to light another cigarette with his back turned to the group.

"I apologize, Natalie, for attempting to selfishly ease my suffering caused by both yours and my pain," Michael spoke though another sob that threatened to overtake him. He clenched his fists around the dirt beneath him and grit his teeth.

Natalie stared down at the back of his head with wide eyes. Her own tears had been freed and fell down her face, unable to comprehend why it was Lucifer insisted on this course of action, but understood that Michael was asking for forgiveness that he desperately felt he needed. He had willingly chosen to fall and enacted punishment on himself without consulting anyone. Another Archangel had been lost due to his own desires. She sniffled and ran a hand through his hair as his shoulders shook before she leaned down and placed a kiss on the back of his head.

"I forgive you," she said quietly, through her own tears, and leaned back to sit on her ankles.

"Thank you," Michael forced out through grit teeth.

Laila had pushed herself out of her chair and crouched down before Michael as well and whispered her own words of forgiveness soon after. The two woman shared a look as tears wet both of their eyes. Never had they expected to see him bowed before them in such a state. He was such a jovial and righteous person that they could not even imagine the amount of pain he had felt in order to do such a thing. They could only listen to the words spoken and offer their sympathies, as neither of them had lived an eternity, neither of them had flown on wings of light, and neither of them had been the one to bring about the death of a loved one.

Felix pushed himself off the ground and shuffled over to Lucifer who had yet to look back at the group, only listened to the words as they were spoken, and let the cigarette hang from his lips uselessly. He had yet to even take a pull from it while his eyes, half closed, gazed out at the lake. The moon shone down on its shifting surface with its cold light, ignorant of the events that had come to pass below.


	10. The Call

The next day, they brought Michael back to the hotel with them. They had convinced him to return to California and stay with Natalie in the large house while he regained his footing in the world with his new status as a Fallen. In all technicality, he would become a demon over time, and Felix had mentioned it was a tough thing to experience on your own. Natalie refused to leave him be on his own.

Lucifer had pulled the rental in to the Hotel parking lot early that morning after they had returned via the same ferry.

"Two brothers, in an old muscle car, searching for God," Natalie intoned seriously from where she sat in the back as Lucifer put the vehicle in park and turned back to look at her irritably.

Laila let out a snort of laughter.

"I've heard of this plot, somewhere . . ." Michael pondered aloud from the front seat.

"It's Supernatural," Felix groaned next to Natalie and pulled his face down in embarrassment. He didn't want to even be associated with that woman in the moment.

"I hardly think that genre suits the situation, supernatural is fiction," Michael shot back knowledgably and crossed his arms. He was very much real.

"No, it's a show, called Supernatural," Felix shot back, hating the fact that he had to explain further so that the recently fallen archangel could understand.

"Hmm," Michael hummed and drummed his fingers in his forearms, as he had crossed them in indignation. "I'll have to watch it, maybe we can get some ideas," he muttered thoughtfully.

"Please, don't," Felix muttered and kicked at his seat, prodding him into action so he could get out of the car and far away from the lot of them.

The group padded through the hotel lobby and filed into an elevator in varying degrees of exhaustion from the late night before and entered the suit with relieved sighs. Few of them had actually gotten any sleep, so it was no surprise that Laila and Natalie immediately detoured for their own rooms to take a nap and replenish themselves.

While lying in bed, Natalie sent out a text to both Gabriel and Raphael, informing them that they had located their brother. She did not mention what he had done to himself, as she knew he would need to discuss it with them personally, but the situation weighed heavily on her mind. She dropped the phone onto the bed next to her and sighed. The room was quiet and only the hum of the ceiling fan eased the heavy silence against her ears. From the living room though, drifted the sounds of the television and Lucifer's deep and melodic voice, it sounded as if they were discussing what was on TV. She smiled tiredly and rolled over to close her eyes.

When next she opened them, Lucifer was standing at the sliding glass door, his own recently purchased phone held to his ear. He murmured into it quietly so as not to wake her but his presence alone had roused her from her sleep.

He slid the phone back into his pocket and crossed his arms, staring out at the water before he turned to glance down at her. He quirked a brow at seeing her awake and watching him then sat down on the side of the bed.

"Gabe called. Wanted to know when we would be heading back. I told him tomorrow most likely since you needed rest," he explained.

Natalie grunted tiredly in acknowledgement before pulling the blankets up over her shoulder and snuggling into the pillow again.

"Hey," she called a few moments later, her voice muffled by the pillow. Lucifer had yet to move and hummed in response. "I love you," she stated matter-of-factly and lifted hand from beneath the blankets to pat his cheek wearing a shit eating, but sleepy, grin.

Lucifer smiled down at her and grabbed her wrist to place a kiss against her veins, "I love you too," he murmured into her flesh.

"You do?" Natalie gasped teasingly.

"I do," he muttered and leaned over to kiss her on the lips.

They bought tickets for the plane ride home later that night. It was a strange trip back, as they had expected have a holy arch angel in tow, but instead, they had a recently fallen demon to cart back. Raphael had informed her via text that he had already known of the events. He had seen how broken Michael had been over the End of Days and Lucifer's condition the previous day had only confirmed it for him. The information had been share with Gabriel already, and really, it was easier that way. There would be no need for Michael to muster up the nerve to break the news, no shocking surprises, nothing to ruin what she had planned.

It was her father who picked them up from the airport in his van. It was the only vehicle big enough to pick up all five of them along with their luggage, after all. They stood outside of the airport, watching for the green van in the distance as other people and vehicles drove through and picked up friends and family.

Lucifer's hand never left Natalie's back, afraid she would wander off or grow distracted, until the old vehicle pulled to a stop in front of their ramshackle group. Alex McAllister stepped out of the driver side door and greeted them all cheerily.

"How was the trip?" he asked over his shoulder as he pulled the sliding door of the van open and moved around to lift the trunk door.

"It was fun," Natalie exclaimed as she followed him and loaded her suitcase into the back of the van.

"You could say that," Laila added as she set her own bag next to Natalie's.

"That's good, at least," Alex shot back with a laugh. He ran back to the driver's side door and slid back into the van. The door was pulled shut and he looked back as if to count and make sure everyone was present. Once certain, he shifted the van into drive and pulled into the line of traffic exiting the airport. "It's nice to see you again, Michael, I hope you doing well," he spoke up after the car had remained silent for a few moments.

Michael was sitting in the seat just behind Alex, Lucifer next to him, while Laila and Felix had claimed the very back. "I'm doing well enough," Michael answered with a charming grin.

Lucifer did not miss the way his grip had tightened on the armrest of the seat but made no comment.

Michael had met Alex after the battle. He had come to visit Natalie as she recovered from the emotional turmoil and offer his apologies. Natalie had been so sad that day that he had not been able to bear sitting with her for more than a few minutes. He had ended up in the kitchen of the house and spoke with Alex for a while, apologizing again for all that had happened, and offering his support should the family ever need anything. After that, though, he had disappeared.

"That's all that you can really hope for," Alex assured the newly fallen with a tight smile. He understood that it would be a long while before balance was restored.

"Booze helps," Felix called out from the back, earning a laugh from all those in the vehicle.

"In moderation," Alex corrected.

"Truuuuuuue," Natalie chorused and patted her father's shoulder with a proud smile. He hadn't touched alcohol in years, asides from when they celebrated and had a toast, and he was very happy about it. Natalie would not let him doubt his success. They had spent so much time working on it together and Natalie, as well as the new knowledge he had gained, helped to steady him immensely.

"With that being said, I think a celebration is in order," Alex added. "The gangs all back together now!"

"Wooh!" Felix whooped in the back while Laila chuckled. Michael offered up an appreciative smile while Natalie clapped her hands in excitement. Lucifer remained silent but a small smirk did cross his lips as he settled back in the seat with crossed arms.

They arrived back at the house some time later. The driveway was empty as the van pulled in and its shuttering engine was shut off and those inside piled out onto the pavement with relieved sighs. None of them would be traveling again any time soon as they had been cramped enough over the past few days. Rather than head in their separate directions, they had agreed to stay at Natalie's house for a while to rest and officially catch up but as Natalie opened the door and they all filed in, it was obvious no rest would be had.

"Welcome Home!"

Several voices chorused from the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The large house was packed with several angels, demons, and humans alike. They had thrown streamers about the common areas of the home and let balloons loose to float about the ceilings. The sliding glass door in the dining room was opened out onto the wooden deck where the smell of smoke and cooking foods wafted in by the light breeze from outside.

Music was playing from the sound system in the living room while several people sat about, obviously just talking, but all eyes had turned to the misfit group as they walked in through the front door.

"Oh man, you guys shouldn't have," Michael mumbled in disbelief. The sweater he had been carrying was set on the back of the couch and he ran a hand through his hair as he struggled with warring emotions within.

"We're just happy to have you back," Natalie assured him quietly with a hand on his arm. She gave him a loving pat and lead him into the living room.

It was Gabriel who was the first to greet his long lost brother with a warm embrace. He had come from the kitchen and wrapped Michael up in his arms. "I'm so glad you're back," he whispered.

"Me too," Michael answered truthfully and stepped back as Raphael approached.

"Natalie," Lucifer grouched from where he stood.

"There's no stopping her, Lucifer, might as well go alone for the ride," Alex said through a laugh and patted the demon on the shoulder before he headed for the grill. It was Nathan who had been invited over by Gabriel doing the cooking. There was a growing pile of meat and grilled veggies to his side as he continued to flip even as Alex greeted him with a handshake.

"How many people are here . . .?" Felix mumbled in awe.

"The majority of the angels, any demon within a forty mile radius, several people from the Bar, the four horsemen, Kristi even," Laila answered him from where she stood next to him.

"How even . . .," Felix whispered.

"It's Natalie, what do you expect, she was charismatic even when she was just human," Laila offered with a shrug and pushed her suitcase further into the house towards a closet. She wanted to stow it out of the way during the party and would collect it later when they left.

"But, everyone, I mean, even the horseman?" Felix continued. He headed for the patio in Alex's wake, determined to light a cigarette and maybe grab a drink after.

"Lucifer, get your ass in here!"

Lucifer sighed and his ears fell despite his best efforts to hide is displeasure at having to deal with more people. "Where the fuck do you get off, ordering me around, Pax?" he shot back as he stepped into the dining room.

"Here," Pax answered and shoved a drink into the devil's hand. The contents sloshed over his hand and Lucifer caught the smell of rum before he took a long gulp of the drink and set the cup down on the dining table, now empty.

"Yesss, get on my level," Pax exclaimed and handed his own drink over before returning to the kitchen to get himself another.

Lucifer snorted and glanced over at those occupying the table, and scowled. The four horsemen sat about with cards between them, varying levels of intoxicated, but had forgotten their cards in favor of eyeing him instead. "You," he growled at Death.

The man pointed to himself, jokingly, and laughed as Lucifer took a threatening step towards him. It was obvious the devil wanted to break his skull in.

"Nope!" Natalie chirped and slid in between Lucifer and the table, grabbed his hand, and pulled him away towards the patio in one smooth motion.

"Girl, I swear, you keep the worst company," he muttered as they stepped into the backyard. The large oak trees had been strung with lights, crisscrossing overhead, while a bonfire burned warmly to the right. A few humans had crowded around it with beer, Max present among them, and they watched as Natalie dragged the devil out into the middle of the little clearing.

Speakers had been set up to play music outside as well, and so Lucifer found himself being dragged into a dance, instead of beating Death's face as he had so desperately wanted.

"I do indeed," she agreed with a chortle and looked up into his eyes mirthfully. "The worst of the worst, in fact," she added as he wrapped a hand around her waist .

"Hmm," he hummed in agreement, a grin growing across his face, and swept her across the grass in a mix between a waltz and a more modern dance. One moment they were clad in the jeans and sweaters they had picked out that morning, and the next, a suit and gown.

Natalie glanced down at the silky red gown that flowed about her with a chuckle. Her feet were bare in the grass, but that suited her just fine, as it was cool and healthy. The gown was sleeveless but it hugged her waist before falling about her thighs to her ankles in uneven lengths, fluttering in the slightest breeze. "You always liked me in red, didn't you?" she asked knowingly.

"It is my color, after all," he agreed smugly and spun her about once more.

His black suit was simple enough in comparison to her dress, but as she spun back to him, she noted it was lined in the same red silk.

"I really need to thank you, for doing all of this, for me. For Michael. It is more than I could ever ask of you," he murmured into her ear as they came together under the lit trees and the song they had started their dance with came to an end.

"You came back to me," she replied with a shrug. "I'd give you the world if I could," she added with a smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts.

"I know," he said, and he meant it. Spontaneous promises and proposals were her thing, but he had always known, those moments were honest and true. She would sit on them for so long that they would burst forth at random and surprise him, each and every time. When she had told him he was her best friend, when she had drunkenly told him she'd die for him, and then again when she had told him she loved him for the first time. "I'd give you the galaxy," he continued with a shit eating grin.

"What? You can't one up me!" she cried as a new song started and they moved again. "In that case, I'd give you all of the universe."

"Hmm," he hummed in thought and lifted his eyes to the stars absently. "Would you settle for just me?" he asked seriously and dropped his yellow eyes to her green searchingly. They had never truly addressed their situation. Things had just steadily progressed as time went on and they had allowed their feelings to grow, but the End of Days had come too soon, and they had never been able to speak their hearts and minds. They had picked up right where they left off, comfortable in each others presence, happy to flirt, but unsure of how to progress. It was not a familiar place for Lucifer to be.

She gripped his shoulder tightly and smirked, "I think I could make that work."

"I'll have the contract drawn up," he said and leaned forward to kiss her.

They paused in their dance, arms wrapped around each other, and shared the tender moment for as long as they dared. Honestly, this felt like the moment when everything changed for them. Everything was out in the open and they were working to build something together.

"Oi!" a grating voice called, "Can you not swap spit in front of me?"

"Don't be jealous!" Natalie called back over her shoulder to her brother.

Max had stood up by the fire pit, a can of beer in hand, and scowled. He didn't need to see Satan himself sucking his little sisters face off, it was gross. "I'm going in for another drink," he muttered to the rest of the group that comprised of his boyfriend, roommate, and a few regulars from the bar. They all chuckled at his discomfort as he stomped back into the house and waived at the two drunkenly.

"He totally wishes he was in my place," Natalie snickered behind a hand.

The two danced through another song before Natalie stated she needed a drink of the alcoholic variety. Lucifer had let her go reluctantly and made his way over to Felix to join him for a smoke on the patio. He sat back in a wicker chair and kicked his feet up on the matching wicker table with a sigh.

"Looking fancy," Felix whistled and snorted when Lucifer shot him a look.

"How's Michael doing?" Lucifer asked as he blew a cloud of smoke into the air and watched it dissipate in the breeze.

"The life of the party," Felix answered with a shrug, "Dude came right out of his shell."

"Of course he did," he muttered with a chuckle and shut his eyes to revel in the peaceful moment. After a few minutes, however, the absence of Natalie began to grate on his nerves and he pushed himself to his feet. He ground out the cigarette in an ash tray on the table before he slid his hands into his pockets and stepped back inside. He detoured for the kitchen to grab another drink from Pax, who seemed to have taken up roost there, before he causally strolled through the growing crowed in search of strawberry blonde hair.

"Did you see where that brat ran off to?" Lucifer asked Laila some time later.

Laila looked up from her hand of cards, she had sat down with Famine to play, and the two goths lifted their eyes to him in confusion. "I have not," Laila answered truthfully and glanced over at Famine.

"Death slipped out front a bit ago. He said he needed to speak with her," Famine answered coyly and dropped her chin into her hand.

Lucifer scowled at her before he about faced and headed towards the front door.

"He's so cute when he's flustered," Famine drawled and set her cards down on the table with a longing sigh.

Laila hummed in agreement as her eyes returned to her own set of cards absently.

Lucifer shut the door behind him, marveling at the silence that assaulted his ears, as the music and chatter of the house cut off. Crickets took up their song then to ease the quiet. With drink in hand he descended the handful of steps to the driveway and scanned the front yard of the property.

He spotted the two moments later, standing by the largest of the old oaks, and talking quietly. Natalie held a glass orb in hand by the rope it was tied with, running a hand through her hair with scrunched brows. Lucifer noted blankly that only a few lights bounced about in the glass.

Death held his hands out to her, clearly at a loss about what they were discussing.

Lucifer struggled to tamper the growing ire within him and approached at a casual pace, and downed the rest of his drink.

"I'm not quite sure what's going on but I'm going to keep an eye out," Death was saying as Lucifer approached.

"Alright," Natalie mumbled and rubbed her face tiredly. "Please get back to me as soon as you can."

Death nodded once, tight lipped, before he stepped back and lifted a hand in Lucifer's direction. He disappeared moments later with a swirl of black smoke.

"What's wrong?" Lucifer asked and moved in front of Natalie with scrunched brows.

Natalie lifted the glass orb to her eyes with a sigh, "Death says there's something wrong. Children's souls are disappearing before he can even get to them," she explained quietly.

Lucifer dropped his eyes to the glass orb thoughtfully, concern lining his face, before he lifted an arm and pulled her into his side. "We'll figure it out," he assured her quietly.

"I know," she answered and tipped the orb over into her hand. Three balls of light spilled out into her palm and she wrapped her fingers around them as they dissolved within her. She felt them nestle within her soul, a little confused to happy and comfortable, and allowed herself a small smile. It was such a good feeling when souls came and went. It was concerning that Death was losing track of the children, but she was certain everything would sort itself out soon. She had the Devil at her side otherwise.

"There's no use in worrying about it now, kid, enjoy the party," he muttered and rubbed her shoulder as they shuffled back towards the house. "One drama after another," he warned with a chuckle, "this one isn't over yet until the party ends."

Natalie snorted and rubbed her other shoulder in his side, "Look at you, trying to cheer me up," she teased.

Lucifer smirked and pushed her through the door and shut it behind them. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a marshmallow, I know," he drawled.


	11. Everything Stays

The party came to an end early in the morning when the food had run out, soon followed by the alcohol, and the few people that remained had intended to crash there. Natalie had three guest bedrooms to be used, a formal living room, casual living room, and an office. So it was no surprise when the majority of the humans returned to their own homes via taxis, and horsemen had dispersed, that Natalie was left with several angels and demons talking quietly among themselves as she readied for bed. Raphael and Uriel had taken up the couch while Michael laid on his stomach on the floor of the living room, absently searching through television channels, while Gabriel attempted to tidy as much of the mess they had made so as not to inconvenience Natalie.

"I'm so tired," Pax moaned as Natalie tucked him and Felix into one of the guest beds with a smile.

"Then sleep, silly," she chortled as he rolled over onto Felix, who had long since passed out in a drunken stupor.

"'Kay," he mumbled in return.

Max had chosen to stay over and he and his boyfriend had claimed one of the other guest rooms. Anne had chosen to return home so that she could get a good night sleep before work the next day.

"Where'd Laila go?" she questioned aloud as she traveled through the dining room, trash bag in hand and collected empty cups and plates.

"I think she's in one of the rooms," Lucifer said as he dropped the grilling utensils into the sink to be washed tomorrow.

"Okay," Natalie mumbled through a yawn and stretched. "I think we'll do the rest tomorrow," she continued and shuffled into the living room. "That couch pulls out and there's an air mattress in the closet over there, have a good night you guys," she explained and waved her goodnight to the angels.

"Night," they chorused back.

Natalie flopped into her bed with a tired sigh and a smile on her face. Lucifer followed her in and shut the door, glad to finally be away from the crowd of people, and padded over to the bed. He bent down and kissed the back of her neck, causing her to giggle, and asked, "Can I have you tonight?"

Natalie paused and turned over to face him on her back before she grinned and held her arms out to him. "You can," she answered with a laugh as he pulled her into his arms and sat down on the bed in her place, Natalie perched upon his lap.

They shared a kiss, as his hands slid up her back in search of the zipper to her dress, and she worked to unbutton his shirt. He could have just magicked the clothes away, the same way he had made them appear, but then, where was the fun in that? He slipped the dress from her shoulders and left a trail of kisses from her jaw to her collar bone as she pulled the shirt from his arms and ran her hands across is skin, marveling at the smooth taut muscles beneath.

Lucifer pushed her onto the bed, sliding her off of his lap as he did, and let out a hum of pleasure as he continued to work along her collar bone and pulled the dress from her hips.

"I really do love you," she reminded him and he lifted his eyes to hers, the hungry gaze dimming to a soft expression and he smiled, returning to her lips for another kiss.

"I know," he murmured, "I love you too."

Natalie woke the next morning feeling thirstier than she ever had in her life before. Between two nights in a row of alcohol and their recent exploration in love making, she was in desperate need of hydration. She sat up with a stretch, loathe to leave the cool sheets against her bare skin, but knowing she must regardless. She glanced over at the resting form of Lucifer, sprawled out across the bed and his arm still outstretched to support her head, and smiled. She leaned over his face and drew her finger down the bridge of his nose, enjoying the sight of his usual grumpy face relaxed, and snickered when he pushed her hand away.

"Leave me be, woman," he mumbled and rolled over, holding a pillow to his chest, to hide his eyes from the morning sun.

"You sure like sleeping now," she observed and leaned over again, this time to blow into his ear.

Lucifer rolled back over and pulled her down to lay in his arms, hands wrapped around her wrists to prevent them from bothering him further, and sighed.

Natalie pouted but closed her eyes again to sleep for a bit longer. She could get a glass of water later.

When she woke next, Lucifer had left the bed, but she heard his loud voice from downstairs. It sounded as if he was arguing with Michael already. She would have been worried if it wasn't for the fact that the few words she did catch were in regards to cleaning the house. She smiled into her pillow before pushing herself out of bed to shower and change.

Freshly dressed in some leggings and a white tank top that fell passed her hips, she padded down the hall and descended the stairs. She could not help the sigh of relief that escaped upon sighting that the house had been cleaned while she rested and Max was in the kitchen, already cooking up a breakfast to feed an army. She pulled herself onto a bar stool next to Pax and a cup of coffee was set down in front of her by Lucifer himself. He smiled down at her lovingly as she blearily took her first sip.

"I've wait for this day for so long," she drawled tiredly as Lucifer stepped away, wearing the pilfered pair of sweat pants from Max, to set up another pot of coffee.

"What day?" Max shot back over his shoulder with a chuckle.

"The day I'd wake up in a boy harem," she said casually and took another sip of her coffee as every angel, demon, and human in the room turned to look at her all in varying forms of sleepwear and undress.

Pax lifted his head to glance about as if to confirm the boy harem and snorted, "This _is_ kind of a sausage fest."

Uriel's laughter rung out from the dining room and the others followed suit while Lucifer rubbed at his face and took a sip of his own coffee.

"What's everyone laughing about?" Laila asked tiredly as she walked into the kitchen wearing the same clothes as the day before.

"My dream is ruined," Natalie bemoaned before she giggled and pulled out the stool on her other side and patted it for Laila.

"Same," Laila grunted and sat down, graciously accepting the coffee placed in her hands.

"Max, your burning the bacon," Lucifer called from over his shoulder as Laila took the cup of coffee.

"What? Oh!" Max returned to the stove and took the bacon from the burner just in time.

Michael strolled into the kitchen with arms raised mid stretch, "Morning guys, anything I can-." He was cut off as Lucifer set a finger on his chest and pushed him back out.

"You are a destructive mess in the kitchen, get out," he deadpanned and only quirked a brow when Michael shot him a betrayed expression and shuffled into the dining room to claim a seat at the table with Uriel and Felix.

"Aww, it's okay Michael, I am too," Natalie reassured him from her stool with a laugh.

"I tried to learn," Michael whined and dropped his head onto the table with a tired groan.

"You failed," Lucifer called from the kitchen and lifted a pan of eggs from the stove over Max's shoulder and slid behind Raphael as the archangel filled his own mug of coffee. The pan of eggs was brought to the table where a buffet had been set out with plates and silverware for all. Lucifer shook the eggs out onto a growing mountain of a serving tray. Peppers and onions added some color to the yellow mass. He returned to the kitchen where Max had held out his hand for the skillet. "It's still hot," Lucifer muttered and leaned around him to set it back on the stove.

Lucifer turned away and Max poked at the handle of the skillet curiously and nearly cried out in pain, but he bit his lip, refusing to look a fool in front of a room full of angels and demons. He shook his hand in an effort to cool the burn before turning the stove off with a sigh.

Breakfast was rowdy, as was expected with a household of demons and angels, but fun. There was much laughter and retelling of the nights events as they partook of the provided eggs, bacon, and toast. Natalie was pretty sure they had hammered back a couple gallons of coffee by the time people started to remember they had lives and jobs to attend to. Well, some of them anyways. Natalie wouldn't be surprised if several of them hung around for a couple days.

"Come on, McAllister, we got a bar to stock and open," Laila called as she stood and went about to search for her discarded suitcase.

"On to the next party!" Natalie cried, causing Pax to laugh.

"Easy there, party animal," Lucifer drawled from where he sat at the head of the dining table. He downed the rest of his coffee and stood.

"We'll meet you there, Laila," Natalie assured the woman before she headed upstairs to find a pair of socks and put her hair up.

Lucifer stood and with a snap of his fingers, was dressed in jeans and a v-neck black shirt.

"Aww," Mark, Max's boyfriend, could be heard letting out a groan of disappointment.

Lucifer lifted his eyes with a suffering sigh before he scooped his phone from the kitchen bar and slid it into a pocket just as Natalie returned with her purse and keys in arm. "Don't break anything," Lucifer ordered all those in the room as they shut the front door behind them and headed off to the Hookah Bar.

They had almost nothing to do upon arrival. Laila was just setting out a hookah for Felix when they walked in through the back door and strode into the main room.

"Gabriel did everything," Laila explained as Natalie glanced over at the fully stocked and cleaned bar. Her eyes roamed the rest of the room to take in the perfectly placed furniture, cleaned and swept floors, and uncluttered surfaces. "He even fixed the sink in the men's bathroom," she added with a smile.

"Wow," Natalie exclaimed and walked over to join Laila on the couch with a plop. "Then we get to chill until open and then it should be an easy night."

Lucifer set up a game of pool for himself to remain entertained while the girls talked and Felix pulled on his hookah. Natalie watched him as he played, he had the table cleared in a few minutes, before he reset it and started again.

"It's official," Natalie said quietly to Laila, "He's perfect in every single way."

Laila side eyed her with a knowing smirk and leaned back in the couch with crossed arms. "That's awesome, rock on, Natalie," she said coyly and snickered as she blushed. "It's about time, I was beginning to wonder. Like, I honestly thought you guys have been doing it the whole time."

"What?" Natalie squawked.

Laila laughed as Felix covered his eyes with a hand and tried to block out the images in his mind. His own blush worked its way to his cheeks and he groaned. "Why father?" he bemoaned.

It was a fun night at the bar. With both Lucifer and Michael back, business was booming even more so than usual, and they struggled to keep up with orders. But everyone was in such high spirits that no one minded the extra time it took to get a drink, hookah, or snack.

Lucifer stood behind the bar with Nathan, as the human had been struggling on his own, and many a joke was made about their similarities. Both men were just as tall, muscular, and tattooed as the other. Nathan's exciting personality, coupled with Lucifer's sarcasm and wit, worked well together at the bar. Many a joking insult was traded but Lucifer was loath to admit that he was enjoying himself. Nathan was far more joyful then he would have liked, but he made up for it in intelligence and understanding of social grace. He didn't push for information or whine, like some people . . . He reminded him of Ipos.

"Look what the dog dragged in," Lucifer drawled as Raphael himself sat down at the bar.

"Brother," Raphael greeted with a small smile and leaned on the bar.

"Not that I care but should you be drinking?" Lucifer asked as he wiped out a freshly cleaned glass and set it down on the rack with the others. Nathan was talking to another group sitting further down the bar but glanced over upon hearing those words. They typically led to rowdy and belligerent guests angry for being cut off.

"I thought about it," Raphael admitted as he glanced up thoughtfully and scratched at his beard, "But, does it really matter now?"

Lucifer paused in thought as well and Nathan chuckled at the vacant expression they both wore.

Eventually, Lucifer shrugged, "I don't think it matters anymore. Sin or not you still return to the garden."

Raphael chuckled and ordered a beer then and enjoyed the opportunity to talk with his brother, causally, while he worked. At one point, Natalie breezed by to give Raphael a hug, which the angel appreciated, and shot Lucifer a happy smile.

Lucifer paused from picking up empty glasses, staring at the bar top, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Raphael had asked as he took a sip of his third beer.

"It's just . . ." he paused. It could have been the beer he himself had consumed throughout the day while working, but he had had a realization that, he was already well aware of, wash over him again. It seemed all the stronger due to the recent events and atmosphere he had been surrounded by, but he couldn't help but voice it. "You know, none of this would have happened had she not been born. We wouldn't be here, talking amicably, and rebuilding the world if she hadn't stepped in and offered herself up. I can't help but wonder; what would have happened if she hadn't made a contract with me, hell be damned, and stuck to me like glue."

Raphael stared at Lucifer steadily before he dropped his eyes to the glass before him and swirled the amber liquid thoughtfully. "This world would have died," he admitted quietly and set the glass down with a sigh. Overcome with what could have been, he sat back in the stool and glanced about the warehouse, and admired the company of humans, fallen, and angels gratefully. "We must guard her with our lives," Raphael intoned darkly as he leaned forward on the bar once more with crossed arms.

Lucifer's grip on one of the glasses tightened and cracks speckled its transparent surface. "I planned on it, if anyone should touch her, they will know Hell," he muttered and threw the glass into the trashcan behind him. It thudded as it hit the side before shattering at the bottom. A few of the other guests at the bar turned to look curiously before returning to their own conversations. Broken glass was a norm at any bar.

Raphael snorted with a smirk, "Hell is no more, brother."

Lucifer glanced down at him, his eyes previously had searched out the strawberry blonde in the crowd, and leveled him with a sardonic grin. "I am Hell," he growled, eyes blazing in the low light, horns red and ears pointed.

"She's only grown more beautiful, you know," Raphael added with a sigh, "All kinds of dark things will be drawn to her." He rubbed at his face as the alcohol set in and anguish washed over him at the same time. "I've never seen such a thing in any soul, I can't look her in the eye, Lucifer."

"Do I need to be worried about you trying to steal my woman?" Lucifer grouched with a glass in one hand and the other fisted.

Raphael let out a bark of laughter, "No, but you may find me lost after looking. She's like the aurora borealis."

Lucifer frowned but grunted and turned away to get another customer a drink. Raphael followed with his eyes and noted then that even Lucifer's soul had changed. It would always be a bit darker than others but it had begun to glow with its own light. Cracked and broken it may be, he was working on his own garden. Raphael snorted, though it may as well have been filled with cacti, he thought with a chuckle.

Several days passed in a similar fashion. Angels and demons were constantly cycling through Natalie's house all hours of the day, so much so, that she had given up on even keeping her door locked. No one would even dare to enter the property as it were, since a certain Japser and Jekyll had followed them home, and the Hellhounds patrolled the land throughout the day and night. She just saw no point in it. Anyone was welcome to stay at her home, as far as she was concerned.

They would make a large breakfast for everyone present and return to the bar to work into the early morning, and then a late night dinner would be made. The only time Natalie and Lucifer had alone together was night, when they laid in bed, and talked to each other about all they had missed out on in the six years they were apart. It was a nice pace and Natalie enjoyed it, she knew Lucifer did too, though he would never admit it.

Still, she waited to hear back from Death every day. She grew more and more nervous the longer he was away and after a week had passed, she voiced her concern to Lucifer while they shared a hookah in the back of the bar. The place was empty, as they had yet to open, and Natalie had offered to make one so that she could get him to sit down with her.

"I'm sure he's just getting everything sorted out, kid, he's an age old creature who's been doing his job for a millennia," Lucifer assured her with a shrug. "There are bound to be a few hiccups here and there anyways, everything is still new in comparison," he added and took a pull from the hookah. He blew out a cloud of black smoke, as he so loved to do, and leaned back against the plush couch.

Natalie nodded and drummed her fingers on her thigh in thought. "I just. . ." she paused, trying to find a way to explain it, "It doesn't feel like nothing. I feel like something is wrong . . ."

Lucifer grunted and passed the hookah hose over to her, "Trust your gut then, but even then, there's nothing we can do until he comes back from recon."

"You're right, you're right," Natalie agreed with a suffering sigh.

That night was just as busy as any other. The bar was packed and all of the couches were filled with smokers chattering away. Every pool table was occupied and the staff were running around like headless chicken. Laila had left manning the hookahs to Natalie and Felix so she could jump back into the kitchen with Chelle. Both Nathan and Lucifer were at the bar.

It was a wild rush and Natalie could not deny the fact that she was thoroughly enjoying it. There was nothing quite like the rush of a busy night at the Hookah Bar. When everyone was frantic but it high spirits there was much laughter to be had. Even when a plate of food had been dropped, there was nothing but laughter, and the mess was quickly swept up by Natalie herself.

She was just emptying the contents of the dustpan into the trash in the back when she heard her name being called from the main room. The voice sounded frantic, but she assumed she was just missing out on something really awesome, and so took her time washing her hands. She assumed someone would record the even and she would get the play by play later. She was wiping her hands on a towel when Laila threw the kitchen door open.

"Natalie," she gasped through panic.

Natalie was darkly aware of why she immediately felt sickening panic well up within her stomach like bile. It clenched her heart and hugged her lungs and prohibited her from thinking at a functioning pace. That tone of voice was one she had not heard since she was a child, and it was quickly followed by a dizzying drive to a hospital, that all ended in a broken heart.


	12. This is Gospel

"It's Kristi!" Laila exclaimed with glistening eyes from the door of the kitchen. She was holding a forgotten receipt in her hand, now crumbled, due to the urgency of the situation.

"Kristi?" Natalie questioned as she hurried after Laila. Kristi rarely ever came to the bar, she was not a smoker and didn't partake in alcohol all the much, so it was strange to hear of her then. Natalie could not wrap her head around the fact that Kristi was the cause of the panic, and that she happened to be at the bar on top of it. What kind of situation had she gotten herself into?

They burst out of the hall where the occupants of the room had crowded around the front. Burning hookahs and half empty drinks were left forgotten in everyone's haste to see what was going on. The majority of those blocking Natalie's path were human, she noted, as she pushed her way through them and grunted when someone elbowed her in the stomach by accident. People were muttering grimly while others wore expressions of worry, and even fear. She could practically feel the static of their fright in the air.

"Get out of the way!" Lucifer's voice broke through the crowd. Several people attempted to do was he had ordered but there were so many bodies clustered about that there was nowhere to actually move to. Natalie could just make out the top of his head from over the crowd, and she steered herself in that direction.

"Natalie!" She heard Kristi cry her name and it spurred her to shove her way through the last few standing in her path. She came to a stop, finally having burst through the crowd, and paused to take in the site before her.

Kristi sat sprawled on the ground with a child in her arms. Her face was red and blotchy from crying and the little girl she held was unresponsive. Natalie gasped and dropped to her knees over the child. She was practically grey, such was her coloring, and it did not bode well for her condition what so ever. Natalie had only seen a corpse a handful of times in her life, and the girl wasn't far off.

"What happened?" she asked in a surprisingly calm voice as her maternal instincts kicked in. She held her hands under the child's head and urged Kristi to lower her to the ground as gently as she could. Nothing could be done if the woman refused to so much as let go of her. She held a hand on the ground, protecting the girls head from the cement floor, and glanced up at Kristi urgently.

"I was just picking her up from gymnastics and she just stopped talking, she was completely fine one second and then she was gone the next. I didn't know what to do . . ." Kristi sobbed and crouched over the child as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Her hands hovered over her, shaking, wanting to do something to fix the problem but not understanding. "She's my little sister and I don't know what to do, I was near by and you were the first person who came to mind. It didn't seem natural." Kristi struggled to explain the events that had led her to the bar through her sobs.

"Can someone please call nine one one," Natalie called in a commanding tone but did not take her eyes off the child as she felt for a pulse at her neck. The little girl looked no older than six. She sat as still as she could, ignoring the commotion around her as Laila did as instructed and made the call, waiting for any sign of life within the small body. Natalie leaned forward slowly and took a breath in when she felt the slightest of pulses. She leaned over to listen at the girl's mouth and allowed herself to relax a little at the sound and feel of a small breath.

"Okay, okay," she mumbled in an effort to calm herself and patted the girls cheek. "Alyssa?" she called quietly. No one commented on the fact that the little girl's name had never been mentioned. There was no movement from her. "Alyssa, honey, can you hear me?" she asked again.

Blue eyes cracked open a fraction but there was no other response, but it was better than nothing.

Kristi sobbed at the slightest of reactions and leaned over closer towards her little sister.

"She's not here," Natalie murmured, dazed.

"What?" Kristi cried. "What do you mean she's not here?"

Natalie did not answer her as she dropped a hand on the girls forehead and then over her stomach. Flashing lights split across the room as an ambulance pulled into the parking lot and Natalie leaned back on her ankles and turned back to meet Lucifer's eyes. He wore a frown but his eyes spoke volumes. He knew what she had meant and it did not bode well for humanity.

The paramedics rushed in through the door, held open by Felix, and took Alyssa away with a sobbing Kristi in tow. All the while Natalie sat there on the floor, staring at her own opens palms, wondering just what was taking the souls of children from the dead and now even the living. Tears fell from her eyes as helplessness overwhelmed her. She didn't understand what was going on and had no idea how to fix it. The very souls she had sent out into the world were being stolen. She would even go so far as to consider it kidnapping. She had healed them, housed them, within her very heart before saying her goodbyes to them so that they could have another shot at life. And someone or something was snatching them away.

It wasn't right.

She was pulled to her feet by a familiar set of hands and lead back to her favorite couch as Laila closed up shop early. Anyone not directly related to Natalie and the End of Days was ushered out the door and it was locked behind them with the promise of reopening tomorrow for their regular hours. Many a customer grumbled that night, but they understood, and would go home to keep their own children close.

"What the hell?" Felix muttered as he walked back to join the others at the couches.

"Everyone, let's take a moment to calm down," Raphael stepped up and ushered Felix to take his vacated seat on the couch. The demon slid into place and watched as Raphael moved over to Natalie and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Natalie . . ." he called quietly.

When she did not respond Lucifer frowned and snapped his fingers in front of her, "Nat," he called.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh, as if she had been holding her breath, and glanced about the gathered group. In order, Laila, Lucifer, Felix, Raphael, Pax, Nathan, Chelle, Max, and a handful of other angels and demons that Natalie wasn't too familiar with were present and staring at her with questioning eyes. Gabriel and Michael were probably still back at the house, she thought vaguely.

"Umm," she mumbled and shook her head to rid herself of the sight of the soulless child before she took a breath and said, "Something is taking the souls of children. Death mentioned it to me about a week ago and said he would look into it. But he hasn't been back since . . ." she trailed off and ran a hand through her hair. Now she even worried for the horsemen. Had she sent Death to his own demise?

"And now it's taking the souls of children still among the living," Raphael finished with a curled finger held to his chin in thought.

Natalie nodded wordlessly.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted in the stunned silence that followed. "But I know it can't keep doing this. The balance we have achieved is still so fragile . . ." She implored them to understand the magnitude of the event, and just how terrifying it was, because she could not handle the emotions she felt on her own.

Lucifer sat with a hand on Natalie's back, but as emotions swirled within the room, his own frustration rose. It was one thing after another. He had selfishly thought, for a moment, that this was another form of punishment. The drama brought on by the missing souls was just another obstacle preventing him from knowing peace. But he quickly derailed the thought and shook it from his mind. This affected Natalie above all else, he could see it in the way she hunched her shoulders and clasped her hands, trying to mask the shivering that wracked her body. And the tears that still bled from her eyes.

Lucifer glanced about the room, taking in the familiar faces of demons and angels, and saw them all then as what they truly were: Brothers and sisters. Born of the same race and separated by choice, but still, they had all been friends at one point. He could not fix the problem on his own, he knew that, otherwise he would have put a stop to it all before Natalie could even shed a tear. He would need help. And with that thought, his mind was made up.

"I think it's time we all sat our asses down and talked," Lucifer stated, cutting through the frantic muttering of the group as easily as a knife through butter. "We'll hold a council and figure out how the hell to deal with this shit before it gets any further out of hand," he continued and pushed himself to his feet, pulling Natalie up along with him. "Festus," he called.

"Yes," Felix stood to attention.

"Take Pax and gather all those you can find. We'll hold a meeting at Natalie's house in two days. I want everyone worthy enough to be under my command there," he ordered. He trusted Felix's judgment in that department above all else, as he was the most loyal of any Fallen, and would forgo anyone that may cause trouble. He wished he had Ipos steadiness in that moment, but he would make do with what he had.

The angels in the room fell silent as Lucifer spoke and shared hesitant glances. They had not known that it would come to this, that Lucifer would assume command over the demons again, and were unsure if it was wise to even act as two separate bodies of government any longer.

"Yes, master," Felix shouted and glanced over at Pax who jumped to his feet with a grin.

"Alright, finally, some action!" Pax crowed as the two disappeared within the shadows to do as ordered.

"Raphael," Lucifer called.

Raphael still stood but he had lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. It was frustrating, but Michael was no longer an Arch Angel, he who would lead them was no longer their leader. He leveled a knowing stare at Lucifer and nodded once. He would step up in Michael's place for the time being.

"Now is not the time to bother working out new politics," Lucifer growled at the unrest that grew from the angels. "We follow our old ways until this is settled and we can work something better out later. Raphael is your next best option," he continued.

It was true. While Gabriel had the knowledge to lead he was far too nervous and did not have the fortitude. Uriel was too emotional and unpredictable with his abilities to be counted on to lead the angels as a whole. Raphael was a healer, yes, but he was clam and worked well under pressure. He was also far wiser. The others knew that he would weigh every option fairly and give great thought to each possible outcome before coming to a decision.

It was the best they could do at the moment, though no one wanted to admit, and angel eyes followed Lucifer as he guided Natalie through the back.

Two days later and Natalie's backyard was packed with so many people that she worried someone would call the cops to report a noise complaint. Every angel and demon of sound mind had shown up to discuss the next course of action and how exactly they should proceed from that point on without a Heaven or Hell to guide their actions. The two groups had separated themselves to either side of the yard and the image was memorable. Angels in jeans and robes decorated one side while demons in black and torn clothes, horns on display, speckled the other.

Natalie wrung her hands nervously as she stood on the patio, watching as Max and Felix worked to set up a large canopy tent where her dining room table would be set for representatives of each group to sit down and talk. Her nerves were frayed but she was inexplicably happy to see all the angels and demons coming together for a good cause.

"Back up, Nat," Lucifer called as he pulled one end of her table through the glass door while Michael followed with the other end in hand.

Natalie slid out of the way as they walked the furniture down the steps and positioned it under the tent. It would shield them from the sun while the other angels and demons sat around in the shade of the grand oaks. Laila and Chelle had shown up to offer assistance with tending to the guests, and they walked about handing out lemonade and spiked teas, while bickering and laughter filled the air.

Pax trailed after Lucifer and Michael with an armful of chairs and Gabriel was soon to follow.

Natalie stepped down onto the grass after them and watched as Lucifer took the chairs from Pax and set them about around the table. He gestured for her to take a seat at one end of table and she absently complied. She looked up from under the tent, allowing the warm sunlight and blue sky to ease her mind, before she sighed and set her arms on the table. It was nerve wracking to have asked all willing angels and demons to show up, but then, it was Lucifer who had made the call. And the fact that he had done so was not something Natalie would ever forget. Not too long ago, he had hated humans completely, content to manipulate and bend them to his will, but now he was willing to help her save them.

"Let's get this over with," he grouched loudly to all those present.

A hush fell over the yard as Raphael stood from the group of angels and sat down to Natalie's right. Gabriel claimed the seat next to his brother nervously and gripped a scroll of parchment tightly, on which he had made several notations of discussion topics, before shooting Natalie a smile meant to reassure her. It was obvious he felt awkward; as such a council had never really been organized before, least of all without Michael to lead by Father's word. The angels felt so out of place without their home, father, and leader. Natalie had tried to make sure they felt welcomed in her own home in the meantime, but she understood, it was not at all the same.

Natalie returned the smile with her own.

Lucifer sat down at her left and, to the surprise of everyone present, Michael took the seat next to him. He wore a steely expression that dared anyone to challenge him. Lucifer watched from the corner of his eye with a smirk and crossed arms. The beginnings of a set of horns could be seen, peeking out through his mop of hair, but Lucifer refrained from commenting on it. Instead he leveled a look at Raphael, who wore a grim expression, and rolled his eyes.

There were still five available seats left at the table and it had been decided that Max would sit at the other end to represent humans in the discussion. He looked so out of place, sitting across from Natalie, that she felt for him. The man had been through enough in his life without having to add the council between Angels and Fallen to the list. He sat down with hands clasped on top of the table before him and twiddled his thumbs with a heavy sigh. He didn't know how Natalie did it.

The four remaining were open to the horsemen, but Death was still missing, so as the three took their spots, all eyes turned to the empty chair at one point or another with unease. Death was still missing and no one had received any word on his whereabouts.

The silence was heavy and very much pregnant. There was still so much hatred for the other swirling within the ranks as they stood to attention, but, there was no longer any reason for it. Heaven and Hell were no more. There was no opposing side that needed to be overcome but the animosity still lingered like a glass of orange juice after brushing ones teeth. Natalie could feel it as they all settled in the backyard, waiting for the council to begin, and it rubbed at her flesh like sandpaper. She fought back a spike of irritation.

Once everyone had been seated, an awkward tension settled, and Lucifer dropped his eyes to his left and nudged Natalie's foot with his own. She had been lost in thought, obviously terrified, as she was meant to provide an opening speech so that the council could commence. What he didn't know was that she was equal parts frustrated with the obvious dislike and distrust between the two groups. While her close friends had gotten along, Felix and Uriel, Pax and Raphael, it was clear now that the others did not feel the same.

"Oh!" she started and sat straight in her chair, resting clasped hands on the table, and scanned the surrounding faces with nervous eyes. They were all grim. Some irritated while others were nervous and worried. And fear bubbled in her chest as their attention was set upon her like a pack of ravenous hounds. But then her father smiled at her from the other end of the table and she was reminded of why she was there, to save humanity, before she cleared her throat. "Thank you, everyone, for coming today . . ."

All the angels and demons who had been loitering about had taken it upon themselves to cluster around the tent, some sitting and some standing, to hear her as she spoke. Their bodies held the heat of the day in and the stifling stuffiness pressed in against her and the others at the table.

"As you all know, life has changed drastically for all of us, and we are still struggling to pick ourselves back up," she continued, gaining a bit more confidence with each word. She paused, allowing her eyes to scan the concerned faces around the table and backyard, searchingly. She dropped her eyes to her own hands and tapped a finger on the wood while she worked to steady her nerves. "But this is a new beginning. The beauty of this world is that it is ever changing, and shifting, and working to provide us all with a home that can accommodate our needs. And we need to match its efforts. Heaven is no more," she declared and the angels present dropped their eyes, "And Hell has been eliminated."

Lucifer sat forward, arms crossed and leaning onto the table, feeling the weight of many a demons eye on his back. Hell did not matter to them. They had chosen to follow Lucifer long before it had been sealed within him and would follow him still. As long as his ideals remained the same.

"What you once fought over is now done, whether you want it to be or not, and we are all standing here on the same ground," she continued. She lifted her hands now as she spoke, imploring those around her to understand what it was humanity needed of them. "Today, we are gathered as one united force against something that threatens this very precarious balance we have managed to cultivate in the absence of Heaven or Hell, and we need to put an end to it before it gets out of hand."

She was shaking. She was confident in her words but she could feel the building frustration in the crowd, ready to crash over her, as soon as the wave reached its crest. She did not know what would be the final breaking point but she hoped it would not be during her opening speech, she was never good at debate.

"To the angels, I ask for your assistance on the behalf of all humanity," Natalie began. She knew the angels would help, regardless, as they loved humanity and all that it could be. It was why they had remained angels. They had heard their Father's word and taken it upon themselves to offer protection and guidance to those below while they lived out their lives. They regarded humans tenderly, as a parent would their child, and would do anything to help.

"And to those who have fallen . . ." she paused and licked her lips, feeling Lucifer tense beside her, "I humbly ask that you think on the lives you have lived since you joined us here on Earth, and see it worth saving. If not humanity, then at least the world it has created. And know that no one here, in this backyard or on this planet, is better than the other."

Natalie paused in her speech and licked her lips. She could tell that the demons were not quite satisfied with her statement. There was general unrest but it was not as volatile as it had been at the beginning. Her eyes lifted to Lucifer at her side to find him watching her with an expression of bemusement. His yellow eyes glowed brightly in the shade of the tent and watched her with almost predator like curiosity.

"By whose say?" a voice spoke up from the crowd of demons to their left. Their voice had broken the hush upon the crowd as easily as glass shattering upon the ground and muttering began among all those present. Lucifer dropped his eyes to the table in thought, having known she would get such a response, and was curious to see how she handled it. His eyes lifted to her again, watching as a range of emotions blossomed across it; surprise, annoyance, exasperation, and then sadness, recognition, and resolve.

"By mine," Natalie stated and stood with crossed arms and a straight back. She did not bother to search out the face of the one who spoke. This was a power play, she felt, and stooping to the demons level by searching him out would break whatever image of authority she had mustered with her new status. She could not allow that to happen at this point in time, she needed their help, and they would only help if they respected her.

"And mine," Raphael stood, pushing his chair back, wearing a glower that could rival Satan's. He had grown rather fond of Natalie over the years, he had been impressed with her resolve over and over again, and would not tolerate anyone's disrespect of her in his presence.

"And mine," Lucifer stated darkly as he too stood and met Raphael's eyes steadily. It was Natalie's turn to color him impressed. A smirk grew across his face as he watched her from the corner of his eye. She had learned from him, it would seem, as she handled the situation well.

"And mine," Max said quietly as he stood nervously. He understood that, though he was unfamiliar with the majority of the people in that backyard, he was meant to represent humanity. While his political stance in the situation was important, he also needed to support his daughter. She stood there at the end of table looking like a woman no man would want to mess with, despite her small stature, and would take no lip from anyone. But even with all that, he knew she was nervous beyond all belief and struggling to keep her composure. She just wanted everyone to get along and didn't want to have to fight to make it happen, but Alex knew, she would do whatever it took.

"And ours," the three present horsemen said in unison as they pushed their chairs back. Though they had once followed no one but themselves, they had agreed to show Natalie respect, as she had become mother to all. They would make sure all knew of their support of her then and there.

The crowds fell silent.

Natalie reclaimed her seat, as she had originally stood, ready for a fight. "No one here is above the other, as we all have the same capability for good and evil, and we can all die," she said in a softer tone, "No more fighting among ourselves, let us sit down and discuss how best to proceed from this point on. I open this table for discussion now."

The others sat back down and the crowed muttered while those at the table settled themselves.

Natalie dropped her shaking hands into her lap and let out a relieved sigh, glad that her part was over, and more than ready to head back inside and sit back down on her couch to surf through something to watch on Netlfix. She glanced down at her arms, rubbing at the red tattoos that marked them, and felt the souls within her murmur comfortingly. As if the recent activity reminded them of their new lives they had waiting, a few souls chose to leave her then, and she was mortified as tears slid down her cheeks. She wanted to reach up and wipe them away, but she worried that the movement would cause someone to notice, and so she remained still as Gabriel spoke.

But everyone present, even humans, felt the souls depart. Gabriel paused as tears welled up in his own eyes and glanced at her with a smile.

"Sorry," she mumbled hastily and wiped her eyes anyways, realizing that several people had looked her way despite her efforts, and thought to hell with it.

"Don't apologize, Gingersnap," Michael reassured her with a warm smile and rested his chin on a fist, "It's a beautiful thing."

Raphael refused to look at her as Lucifer reached over to clasp a hand in her lap.

"As I was saying," Gabriel started up again in an effort to save the woman further embarrassment, "if this force continues at the pace it is, collecting the souls of children both living and not, humanities population will begin to drastically fall. This may induce panic, within the next year, and economies around the world will begin to crash."

"War will break out," War spoke up darkly, "Entire countries will panic and turn on each other. Birthrates will plummet without souls to reincarnate."

"Food will be scarce," Famine voiced quietly from where she sat.

"Diseases will spread with fewer doctors and people desperate to repopulate," Pestilence added with raised brows and crossed arms.

Each statement hung heavily in the air above them, painting a dark future for humanity, and causing Natalie herself to wish she could take the souls that had just left back and hold them within her until all was safe. But she had no control over it, though she wished she did, and settled for crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing at her arms to comfort herself.

"We know, it'll be bad," Lucifer cut across them darkly and crossed his arms. "The fact that Death is missing alone is concerning, as now all children's souls are free game. On top of that, you all seem to be missing a very crucial piece of information," he continued grimly.

"What information?" Raphael asked tiredly. Lucifer's temper had always left him feeling rather exasperated.

"It's not just human souls that have been passed through Natalie," Lucifer stated, as if those surrounding them were dumber than dirt, "We could very well be losing souls of our fellow brothers and sisters as we speak."

Silence fell again.

"We have no way of protecting every child and no way to determine where this thing will strike next," Lucifer muttered through the silence and sat back in his chair, knowing his point had been made. Hopefully, it would put to rest and unwillingness from his own followers.

"Schools?" Max stated thoughtfully.

All eyes turned to him and he had to admit, it was intimidating to have angels, demons, and horsemen alike staring him down. He drummed his fingers on the table and squared his shoulders. If Natalie could stand among their company and deliver a moving speech, then he could at least offer up a suggestion.

"Is it possible for us to set up surveillance over as many schools as we can and wait to see if something happens?" he questioned. No one seemed to like the idea but he pushed on, "I understand that waiting around isn't exactly what anyone wants to do in such a situation, but with no leads . . ."

"It is a wise move," Raphael finally spoke up. "We set up teams to watch over schools while another watches over hospitals. Until we know what it is we are dealing with, we have no other action to take, even if we do not like it." Raphael eyed the human with growing respect, he had raised Natalie after all, before their eyes met and he frowned slightly. He was very much damaged and tired, but it seemed that Natalie's presence was beginning to ease the deep cracks within his soul, he would be whole again one day.

"And Death?" Michael asked, turning his eyes onto the three horsemen curiously. While the situation was a serious matter, he still looked rather bored as he sat with his chin propped on a fist, but his shoulders were tense and the fingers of his free hand drummed on the table in an effort to relieve his mounting frustration.

"We will search for him," Pestilence assured them. It was not the first time a horsemen had disappeared, but it was a first for Death, who was constantly working and in multiple places at once. The others were free to come and go of their own will, but not Death, Death always had work. So it was worrisome that he had fallen off the radar after attempting to sort out the issue on his own.

"We can research and see if there is anything in lore," Natalie offered lamely. "If we can narrow it down to a few suspects, I'm sure we can figure something out." The internet was a vast expanse of knowledge of all kinds and she was certain that with the right phrasing, she would be able to find a list of possible suspects.

"There's so much information to go through," Gabriel muttered with a sigh. "And we can't just rule out anything that is biblical related, since many supernatural creatures still roam the Earth."

"What?" Natalie questioned with wide eyes. A menagerie of creatures passed through her mind. She clasped her hands as every horror movie monster and its questionable existence was shown in a new light. She stared at Gabriel, watching as his discomfort grew under her gaze, before she turned her eyes onto the man to her left.

Lucifer rubbed his face with a suffering sigh. He knew Gabriel's slip would lead to hours of questioning of which creatures were real and which were fake. He could already feel Natalie's starry eyed gaze on him even as he determinedly looked away. Suddenly, what Gabriel had to say was far more interesting than it had been before.

"Then we will need to assemble a group to cover the necessary locations while the horsemen search for Death," Gabriel stated as he notated the decision on his piece of parchment.

"Lucifer, why not let us borrow the pups?" Famine asked curiously, brows raised, as the two in question romped about in the distance. They were nearly two acres out but their hulking black forms could not be missed.

"They do have a knack for sniffing out evil," War drawled with a slimy smile. There was no shortage of what he could do with the Hellhounds if they were turned over to him for safekeeping. The hellions had struck fear into the hearts of thousands of men over the millennia.

"No," Lucifer said coldly. "They stay with Natalie from now on."

"Lucifer," Gabriel called imploringly. The hellhounds were an excellent resource for reconnaissance, even Gabriel knew, as Lucifer had truly used them to his advantage back in the day. They had sniffed out any darkness within a human's soul and lured them to the Devil for contracting. Surely they could find something even more evil than a human.

"No, Gabriel," Raphael said quietly, staying his brother with a raised hand. "Lucifer is right. Natalie, above all else, must be protected."

"Of course, I meant no offense," Gabriel assured quietly. He was fond of Natalie himself and would not wish any harm upon her by forcing Lucifer to relinquish his hellhounds for use in the search.

"You're the least offensive person I know, Gabe," Natalie exclaimed. The tension between Raphael, Lucifer, and War was thick enough to trip up even the smoothest of talkers. Expertly, she broke it without directly addressing the issue and rested a hand over Lucifer's fist on the table before she continued, "We may want to consider allowing at least Jasper to assist in the search."

Lucifer scowled and opened his mouth to object, teeth sharp and ready for a battle of wills, but Natalie cocked a brow at him and leveled him with a knowing smirk.

"I have you by my side, Lucifer, and I still want to make sure everyone gets as much help as they can," she pleaded with him to see reason.

Both the fallen and archangel fell silent but nodded once, seeing her reasoning behind it.

"But, I would like to entrust Jasper to Pestilence, not War," she added. "No offense, dude, but I've had dealings with you in the past and I don't trust your judgement."

War scowled but only crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.

"Are you sure?" Pestilence asked with a quirked brow of her own, a bit surprised the woman would trust her over War, considering she had killed her once.

"You know when to play your cards and when to fold," Natalie answered with a shrug.

"She's got a point," Lucifer muttered and let out a sigh. He shot her an approving look, again impressed with her intelligence, before letting out a sharp whistle.

The two hounds in the distance perked their heads up, pausing in their roughhousing, before trotting over. Jekyll looped around the tent and plopped down on his haunches behind Natalie, dropping his snout to sniff at her neck while she chuckled, while Jasper sat next to Lucifer and bent his own head for instructions.

"Jasper," Lucifer intoned and the hounds ears twitched in response, "Do as Pestilence says for now, we're searching for something evil, your nose is needed."

"Understood," Jasper's soothing voice rolled through their minds. He stood again and moved to sit behind Pestilence with a huff.

The angels were visibly uncomfortable with the hounds presence but made no comment, choosing to continue on with the discussion. Minor details were worked out from that point on; who would guard the schools, who would watch over the hospitals, and who would be focused on research. It was decided that, should anyone on patrol catch sight of the suspect, no action was to be taken, but they were to report to either Raphael or Lucifer their findings. There was to be no fighting until they knew who or what they were dealing with. They couldn't afford to lose anyone.


	13. Sweet Dreams

Weeks passed with little news on the situation. They all had wracked their brains in search ofw hat could be stealing the souls of the children and many a Google search was done in hopes of finding some new form of information, but to no avail. They had no details to go off of. All they knew was that something was simply taking them and they were seen no more.

Natalie herself had walked through her office one night to find Michael in front of her laptop, running a hand through his hair, scowering over pages of information. His horns had come in fully, gold in color, and reminded her of a dragons. She felt they suited his righteous nature.

She had offered him a tired smile that he returned in kind before she dipped out to finish a load of laundry. If there had been any headway made, he would have said something to her, she was certain.

Natalie had never felt so helpless in her life. There was no action she could take to help in sorting out the issue, and even if there was, she felt like angels and demons alike would stop her. She was too important. They couldn't risk her being hurt.

The Bar remained in business and Natalie and the rest continued to show up every day as stress began to mount. Though they did their best to keep their spirits high. Oddly enough, it was easier to manage the stress at the bar. They could work and laugh with regular people and devote their minds to other topics while business was steady. And when it was late into the night and any sane person had returned home to sleep, they could sit around, smoking their own hookahs and drinking their own drinks, and watch a movie together. They would do their best to keep conversation flowing until they were too tired to remain and return to their homes.

Natalie spent many nights staring out her window, hoping to hear from Death, or for a child's soul to find its way back to her.

She was taking everything the hardest but it was expected. She smiled and laughed with them when she was engaged, but when she was not, she adopted a pensive and worried expression. She grew forgetful and took to walking through her backyard at night, Jekyll at her side, to clear her mind.

It was during one of her walks that Lucifer approached her. He wore jeans and his black pinstripe shirt as he padded through the grass and breathed in the cool night air. He had seen her, strolling along the path of old oaks in her pajamas, and had thought to bring her a sweater. He offered it to her now as he stood before her, slight frown marring his face.

"Thanks," she chirped and pulled it over her head while Lucifer looked up at the clear night sky. "It is a little cold out, isn't it?"

"Yes," he said with a sigh as he watched her, hands in his pockets.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a cocked head. He was oddly subdued that night, she noted, and worried that something had happened.

"You," he grouched in response, irritation flaring with her display of obliviousness. "You're so listless these days, you're not taking care of yourself," he explained upon seeing the hurt on her face.

"I understand," she mumbled and dropped her eyes to the ground, ashamed that she had caused him worry.

"I know . . ." he began but paused to organize his thoughts, "Look, kid, I know this is hard. But I need you to have faith that we'll fix things."

"I know, I'm sorry," she conceded.

"You nearly burnt the house down the other day when you left the stove on," he exclaimed, throwing a hand back to gesture at the house. It's lights were on and the warm glow spilled across the backyard cheerily. From within movement of several people could be seen as angels and demons puttered about. Many of them had taken up roost there out of convenience.

"I was never good at cooking," she admitted with a chuckle.

"Please, Natalie," Lucifer groaned and rubbed his face irritably. "I'm serious."

"I am too," she bit back. "This is all driving me crazy, I'm sorry if I seem so out of it. I'm really trying. But there's just so much going on . . ." she explained. Her eyes glistened in the moonlight and Lucifer's ears drooped for having made her cry.

"It's alright," he murmured and pulled her into an embrace. Her arms wrapped around his torso and she buried her face in his shirt.

"Every time they leave me I know they're going to go missing but I can't stop them from going," she cried into his shirt.

"We'll figure it out," Lucifer assured her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm just so stressed out," Natalie admitted, "I feel sick all the time now, I just can't stop worrying about them, and what about Death?"

"I know, kid, I know," Lucifer rubbed her back and started to lead her back towards the house. Jekyll came bounding from around one of the trees and followed behind at a leisurely pace. "But you have to understand that you have every angel and demon out there right now working to fix things," he continued as they stepped up onto the patio, "Everything that can be done is being done. And I don't like seeing you like this."

Natalie nodded and gripped his arm between hers as he pulled her through the open glass door. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "How about we watch a funny movie?" she proposed lightly while she sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

"Sure," he agreed.

That night Natalie dreamed for the first time in a long while. She had fallen into a rut of exhaustion and stress that had prevented her mind from ever truly relaxing enough to recall a dream or even have one, as far as she knew. But as she closed her eyes, wrapped in the arms of Lucifer, she allowed herself to truly feel that all would be well. They had succeeded so much together, survived the apocalypse even, that she knew they would be able to save everyone. They had to.

So her mind wandered through sleep, picking through memories, and dreaming of what the future would hold. She walked through the garden that was her soul, spied on all those sleeping within her like children in the womb, and smiled. Hearts were healing and blooming into their own beautiful souls, little by little, and she marveled at the healing cracks that decorated them like battle scars.

Among the dark and colorful flowers small orbs of light danced about like fireflies. They flickered to and fro, as if to provide light and entertainment to those within, and she followed them as they bobbed in the air. These were the souls of the children. They had yet to settle, as there was little damage to them and they needed little time to heal, and chose to dance about before heading off to their next lives.

They led her through the forest of a garden, seeming almost to whisper, _"come see, come see, we made a friend"_. Natalie giggled as she pushed through leaves and foliage and a cool breeze brushed across her bare shoulders.

"I'm coming," she said through a chuckle.

Natalie pushed aside a large leaf, looking to belong to an elephant ear plant, and paused. Before her was darkness. A clearing within her own soul where the vegetation had been sucked of life, and in the middle of it hunched a black figure, dripping with what looked like tar. Rattling breaths wracked its lungs, wet and gurgling, while hands rubbed at its arms in an effort to remove the tar. But it seemed to be made of the stuff.

The souls danced about it, darting to and fro, before floating down to lay upon its flesh and be seen no more. One by one their voices in her mind disappeared and she watched with morbid fascination as the thing laughed and turned its face to her. It had ripping fangs and features hidden by tar, but eyes glowed violet from within, and they focused on her.

 _"They're mine,"_ it rasped.

Natalie shook her head, eyes wide, as tears fell. "No," she warbled and reached a hand out, wanting to grab them all up before they could disappear.

 _"I will have them all for what they did to me_ ," it hissed and reached out, setting a hand on the ground, pulling itself out of the hunched position. The earth was reluctant to let it go, but with a squelch, one foot was free. It crawled across the ground with agonizing slowness, working its way toward her, while the souls of the children continued to anoint its flesh and disappear.

 _"Give it to me!"_

"No!" Natalie cried out and shot up in bed. Her heart was racing and she clutched at her chest as her heart threatend to leap out of her ribcage and nausea rolled within her stomach threateningly. She didn't have time. The feeling was overpowering and she threw back the covers, leaping from the bed, and stumbled into the bathroom just as the bile rose in the back of her throat. She vomited into the toilet, though she didn't have much in her, and struggled with shaking hands while recalling the dream.

It had been inside her. She didn't feel it now but, at some point, it had been within her very soul. And it had escaped. She didn't know when, but she assumed some time ago, most likely when her depression had been at its worst. When she was too far lost in her own despair to pay attention.

Bile rose again in her throat and she heaved into the toilet. A cold sweat broke out across her flesh and she struggled to fight the tears that so desperately wanted to fall. It was her fault, she had let it out into the world, and it was taking the souls of the living.

She didn't know what it was but, if it had been within her, it had once been a soul. And most likely, within Lucifer, waiting to escape from the depths of that black water. The tar it had been covered in nothing but clinging darkness amassed over centuries at the bottom of Hell.

She heaved one last time just as cool hands were placed at the back of her neck and her hair pulled from her face.

"I'm sorry, it's gross," she mumbled around the burning of her throat and shakily took the glass of water offered to her. She took a swig and spat it back out into the toilet to wash her mouth out before she flushed and took a real gulp to sooth her throat. The taste still lingered but she vowed to brush her teeth as soon as she had the energy.

"It's alright kid, I've seen worse," Lucifer muttered.

"True," Natalie said through a sigh and dropped to her butt to the floor, her legs aching from the crouch, and leaned back into him.

"What happened?" he asked quietly so as not to wake anyone else in the house. Michael was in the guest room next to theirs, though he rarely slept those days.

"I had a nightmare," Natalie explained quietly, dispensing the details to him as clearly as she could. "Whatever it is, it's been hanging out at the bottom of Hell for a really long time . . ." she finished.

"Hmm," Lucifer hummed in thought, gazing over the top of her head at the bathroom wall, but his mind very far from their physical location. "There were so many evil things locked away in me, I couldn't tell you who or what it was . . ." he finished lamely with his own sigh.

"It's okay, dude, I figured as much," she assured him and pushed herself to her feet, pulling her hair into a bun at the top of her head so she could brush her teeth.

Lucifer watched her as she brushed her teeth in thought before he spoke up and said, "We'll have Raphael take a look at you tomorrow just to be sure."

Natalie nodded a she rinsed her mouth out one last time and shut the water off. They returned to bed but neither of them really slept for the remainder of the night, lost in their own thoughts, and wondering what monster had escaped back into the world.

Raphael stared deep into Natalie eyes as she sat atop a bar stool in the kitchen. Both of his hands rested just under her jaw as he tilted her head this way or that, searching the depths of her soul as best he could. Tears streamed down his face as he did, eyes watering against the beauty of her soul and all that it contained, but he could not see any festering darkness as she had described.

He stepped back after a few minutes and shook his head, lifting his eyes to Lucifer who stood at his side, "I don't see anything. Whatever it was is long gone, not a trace of it remains."

"Good," Lucifer muttered with a shrug. He wanted nothing of the sort to be harbored within Natalie's soul. He knew the things he had sheltered within Hell were monstrous, even more so than he had ever been, and they did not deserve to rest within the beautiful garden that was her soul.

Raphael's mouth was a tight line as he gave a nod, "In a sense, yes, but now it is loose upon the world . . ."

Lucifer crossed his arms, shoulders taut, and lifted his eyes to the sliding glass door stoically. "Maybe we can lock it away again."

"You will do no such thing," Natalie exclaimed and frowned. Lucifer meant to lock it away within him once more. To act as a vessel for the evil that could not even be contained by Natalie herself. "Hell is no more, there is nowhere for it to go but me."

Lucifer slid his eyes over to her, a threatening air about him, but it was not directed at her. "I still have the seals, do I not? They must be meant for something," he argued.

"No soul is to be locked away to fester," Natalie stood to oppose him, her own arms crossed. "It will only make things worse. They must heal."

Lucifer turned to fully face her and his anger rose, "Not all things can be saved, woman, when are you going to get that through your head. This thing entered you evil and it left evil, does that not prove my point?" His voice had steadily rose until he was shouting, angry for her utter faith in her own abilities, and worried that she would do something stupid. No, _knew_ that she would do something stupid.

"Is that a fact?" Natalie exclaimed. "That's awfully funny considering who I'm looking at!" Her eyes glowed green with her outrage. He refused to believe what he himself had proven.

"Who are you looking at?" Lucifer shot back. "You think me saved? Just because I've given up on my ways to be here does not mean I am any less of a monster than I was before." As if to emphasize his point, his eyes glowed and the light of the room dimmed in the darkness that seeped from him. He slammed his fist down on the bar, shattering the tile, and drawing the attention of Michael. The fallen stepped into the kitchen from the living room with wide eyes.

"You're wrong!" Natalie shouted and clenched her fists. "Things are different now. You're different now!"

"The only difference in me now is that I am empty. I have no purpose. There is no Heaven or Hell to end me and my only direction is to follow you. See just how far I have fallen!"

The rage was intense, so much so, that Raphael had moved in front of Natalie to block her of the sight of Lucifer. His skin had grown black and glowing red cracks had blossomed across his body, horns jutting from his head and curling about, while his eyes radiated his rage.

"You will not stand before her in that form," Raphael warned in a cold tone, eyes leveled upon his fallen brother and what he had become.

"I will stand before her however I please," Lucifer drawled with a manic grin, fangs glinting in the darkness he had created. He was begging for a fight. Begging to be rid of the monotony he had fallen into. Anything to rid himself of the doubt he felt over where he stood in this new world he had inadvertently created with his actions.

"He can look however he wants, just as long as he knows it doesn't intimidate me in the least," Natalie complained, placing a hand on Raphael's shoulder.

Raphael looked back at her over his shoulder before he stood to the side with a muttered apology.

"And you," Natalie said coldly, arms crossed as she stood before Lucifer in his most demonic of forms. "Change and growth is shown in how we handle situations, react to things, and how we treat others. You, my dear, have grown exponentially. Even if you do not want to admit it. Now tell me, how are you going to handle this situation right now?"

She stood with steady eyes, challenging him, daring him to react. How, he did not know, but his fist trembled upon the broken bar while his eyes stared into hers. She wanted him to react? She was trying to prove a point. It drove him mad. Two sides warred with each other, his pride and his conscious, fighting for control. He wanted to turn his back then and prove to her that he was Satan, he could walk away and leave her broken and shattered, and another part of him wanted to drop to his knees before her and beg forgiveness.

Yellow eyes dropped to the floor between them and his shoulders slumped as the tension left his body, though his physical appearance did not change.

Finally, he pushed himself away from the bar and turned just so to eye the sliding glass door once more. "I'm not," he stated simply, quietly, and with so much pain.

Natalie's eyes widened as he moved towards the door, sliding it open, and stepped out into the yard where a black hole of shadows opened up before him to swallow him whole. Jekyll had come bounding over but whined as it shut before he could so much as put a paw through.

Natalie sat back down in the bar stool, dazed, as her eyes refused to leave the spot where he had just vanished. He hadn't walked out on her since before their contract had even ended. She was well aware of his temper but it had never come to a point where she questioned their very relationship. He had left her when she needed him most.

"Natalie," Raphael called quietly from where he stood, also staring out the door where his brother had last been seen. "I would assume you didn't tell him," he continued, drumming his fingers on his thighs as rage welled up within him.

"I didn't," she whispered and dropped her eyes to the floor as sadness blossomed in her chest.

Raphael lifted a hand to cover his eyes and let out a breath through his nose. "Let him blow off some steam, then talk, I believe he will feel differently about everything," He advised and stepped forward to shut the glass door.

"We have more important things to deal with right now," Natalie muttered and ran a hand through her hair before pushing herself off the stool. "My shift starts in an hour, if you see him, please let me know," she called over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs to get ready for work.

"Tell him what?" Michael asked obliviously from where he stood in the kitchen.

Raphael dropped his hand to settle a belittling stare upon his brother with a sigh. "It's not my place," he muttered and disappeared with a flash of light.

Michael grunted and returned to the living room to finish the episode of Supernatural he had been watching when the argument had started.


	14. Stranger Things

Lucifer crouched in the branches of a tree, yet to return to his human form, while anger lashed within his chest. Claws gripped the bark, causing it to grown under the growing pressure, while yellow eyes gazed upon the hospital below. The night was quiet and still around him but he was in turmoil.

Why was he so angry?

He couldn't quite locate the one cause within his mind, no matter how long he searched. It was just a mess of emotions amassed within him that pushed at his flesh for escape. He was frustrated with his lack of direction and purpose, irritated by the stagnation of their situation, and angry at himself for what he had become. He didn't deserve to be at Natalie's side. Not when he was the very reason she had become what she was. The reason a monster had left its mark on her and was now loose in the living world.

It was all his mess. He had chosen to fall. He had destroyed Heaven and Hell. And now Natalie was paying the price for it all when it should have been him.

Instead of fixing things, he had been playing house, and it disgusted him. He had told her once before that he was no house cat, and for good reason, because he couldn't do it. He was no good at it. He was the devil. He wanted to be out causing havoc and fighting in the front lines, not doting after Natalie like a wounded puppy, while she agonized over the state of the world.

He could stop this all on his own.

He would remain on patrol until he figured out what was stealing the souls of the children, and only then would he return to Natalie, with its head in his hands.

* * *

Natalie set a hookah down in front of a couple with a smile, "You guys enjoy."

"Thanks, Natalie!" they called after her as she turned and headed back to the kitchen. She had pulled her hoodie on that day, too depressed to try and decide on an actual outfit, and threw her hair up in a messy bun. She shuffled down the small hall and into the kitchen so she could watch the remaining coals on the burner come to life.

They just reminded her of him.

It had been a week since he had walked into her backyard and disappeared. Since then, both Raphael and Michael had assured her he was still in communication with them. He had chosen to search out the monster on his own, working with the other angels and demons in the field, and sent word to them every few days with updates.

He just needed to cool off and work out his anger.

It didn't make Natalie feel any better but she was happy to hear that he had not left them all together. But now she worried for him too on top of everything else. Her heart was torn in two and the only comfort she had was everyone's reassurance that he was alive and Jekyll's presence at her side. She had taken to bringing him everywhere with her. At that moment, he was sitting outside of the backdoor of the bar, napping next to the dumpster and dreaming of chasing prey.

She picked the coals off the burner and set them in a metal basket to be used for the next round of hookahs before shutting the burner off and leaving the kitchen for the office. She sat down at her desk with a heavy sigh and stared at the paperwork laid out for her to complete absently.

Outside, a thunderstorm threatened with deep rolling thunder while the office was far too quiet in comparison. She could hear the ticking of the clock on the bookcase in the corner, louder than ever, and it helped to ease her mind a bit.

* * *

Lucifer pushed the hospital door open and stared blankly at the darkness that greeted him. Not a sound could be heard from within the building; no voices, no machinery, not even the A/C was running. He set a black and clawed foot on the linoleum, allowing the door to swing shut behind him, and scanned the room slowly. This was the work of something far darker than he had faced in a long while, he could tell, the foul taste in the air was enough of a hint. The disturbing and heavy stillness that settled over the building like blanket was another.

He seemed to be the only source of light in the building, his eyes and flesh glowed through the darkness as he padded down a hall, in search of what had caused it. He had been sitting atop the tree that he had dubbed his watch post, when the lights had flickered out, and had gone down to investigate. Pax had been sitting with him, casually swinging his legs in the air, and had stayed behind to call Raphael as Lucifer instructed.

Lucifer, however, had wanted to find out for himself what they were facing.

He peered into a room, noting that a prone figure still laid within the bed, before he continued down the hall. Had anyone caught sight of him then, they would have screamed bloody murder, he was certain. He hadn't even bothered to reclaim his human form, finding it restricting and annoying, and had chosen to continue patrolling the areas hospitals and schools at night. Black flesh cracked and the fire within seeping out to lick the darkness with its warmth, while his horns curled back behind his head, and eyes gleamed. He wore only the remains of his torn robes.

Distantly, he heard the slightest whispers of a voice, echoing down the halls.

 _"Come, little one."_

He grimaced, disgust marring his nightmarish features further, and turned down another hall while he cracked his knuckles. He stalked through the darkness like a true predator of the night, glowing eyes searching every room, until he came upon the very last one in the hall.

A soft glow spilled out into the hall from under the door. It flickered with movement from within.

Lucifer stood straight and pushed the door open with one hand, feet rooted in the doorway, and stared at the image before him with bored loathing.

Crouched over a child's bed was an emaciated human figure, dripping tar on the blankets and flooring beneath, cooing over the child's prone from. It gurgled and wiggled its fingers in the air, luring the soul from the body, and chittered when it slipped out of the child's mouth and hovered in the air.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" he drawled but anger radiated through the air and his eyes blazed.

The thing slowly turned its head in his direction, eye sockets empty except for a violet glow, and laughed wetly.

He waited for approximately one minute for the thing to respond.

Lucifer lunged forward, an image of darkness and death itself, and grabbed the thing by oily and wet strands of hair as it rushed for the window. It screeched, flailing about on the floor where it fell, and sent splatters of tar dancing across the walls.

He growled and grabbed the thing by its throat, lifting it into the air, while tar seeped over his hand and down his arm. "I asked you a question," he reminded it darkly and tightened his grip on its throat.

It struggled to reach his face, clawing at his arm and desperately searching for a hand hold so that it could launch a counter attack, but Lucifer did not budge. He stood there as an immovable force, tall and foreboding, while the thing struggled limply in his grasp.

 _"You've grown, Lucifer."_

Lucifer's face portrayed no emotion as he hurled the thing through the window. The glass shattered and decorated the concrete below as he casually strolled forward and glanced down after it. Nothing was left but a pile of smoldering tar and broken glass. But a laugh still echoed in the night. His eyes lingered on the line of trees across the parking lot before he snorted. He turned back to catch sight of the glowing orb, dancing about nervously in the air, before he picked a plastic bottle up from the bed side table and gently coaxed it into the small space. He screwed the lid back on and left.

* * *

Natalie returned home late that night just in time to catch site of Lucifer, still clothed in his demonic form, stepping out through the sliding glass door while Michael bid him farewell forlornly.

"Lucifer, wait!" she cried out but it was too late. He had already disappeared into the night before she had even shut the door behind her.

Michael glanced back in surprise before allowing a small saddened frown to overtake his face. He closed the distance between them and hugged her for all that he was worth. "It'll be alright, Nat, he's just working through things on his own," he assured her quietly as she struggled against tears. "He brought you a gift though!" he added with enthusiasm.

"He did?" she asked as she stepped back and wiped her eyes.

"Yep!" he chirped and presented her with a plastic water bottle, inside, a small orb of light flickered about.

Natalie gasped, taking the bottle from his hands gently, and smiled as tears spilled forth anew. She opened the bottle, struggling against sobs, and caught the soul within her hand as gently as she could. It rolled about, almost curiously exploring her palm, before it nestled into her flesh and was seen no more.

"He said he had caught the thing in the act, so we know it can be stopped, we just don't know how to defeat it yet," Michael explained as he pulled her into the living room to sit down on the couch.

"Did he say what it was?" she asked curiously while Michael covered her with a blanket and handed her the remote to the TV.

"No, he doesn't know, but he said it looked just as you described it," he continued before disappearing into the kitchen and coming back with a bowl of soup on a tray for her.

Natalie looked a little green, but she accepted the soup graciously, she was famished. She only hoped someone else had cooked it, and not Michael, as he was just as bad in the kitchen as she was. She sipped on a spoonful, marveling at the taste, before she patted the couch next to her.

"Gabriel made it for us," Michael explained as he sat down next to her with a sigh.

"It's really good," she moaned happily as her stomach rejoiced.

"Isn't it, dudes a genius," Michael agreed and leaned his head back on the couch to close his eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of me," Natalie added with a smile that he missed.

"Of course, Lucifer would skin me alive if I didn't," he shot back with a snort and ruffled her hair before sitting up again and taking the remote from her to flip the TV on. He went straight to Netflix and searched for a good movie that would put Natalie in a better mood.

Natalie smiled sadly down at the soup, glad that she had such an amazing support system, and took another spoonful to quiet her starving stomach.

Just then, a black form padded into the living room, and laid down at Natalie's feet with a huff. Jekyll had chosen to take on a smaller form so that he could join them inside, it seemed, and she chuckled. He was probably lonely outside without Jasper. She wiggled her toes into his side, enjoying the warmth, and chuckled again when he didn't even budge.

"Where'd Lucifer run off to?" she asked after a moment of silence.

Michael continued searching through their options as he spoke, "He wanted to speak with Raphael and update him on the situation."

Natalie imagined it was strange for Michael, who would have been in command not so long ago, but made no comment on it. Instead, she chose to finish her soup before she set the tray on the table and leaned back into the couch to watch the movie he had chosen. She closed her eyes minutes later and fell asleep.

* * *

Raphael crouched over the splatter of tar and glass with a look of curious disgust.

"I have no idea, but I'm certain it's not dead, the thing was laughing," Lucifer stood over him, still dark and demonic, while he pulled from a cigarette that sat between his sharp teeth. Pax stood next to him, wearing a frown, with his hands thrown behind his head.

It was still night and the buzzing of the hospital had returned to normal while they huddled around out back. The broken windows blinds had been closed against the night but the mess below had been ignored. Crickets chirped under the buzzing of the parking lot lights.

A cloud of black smoke was spewed forth into the night by Lucifer as he watched over his brother's shoulder. The tar had cooled and solidified in the cool air quickly, but it still reeked of hell. Rotten eggs and brimstone, along with wet dirt and decay, radiated from the mass. Raphael was struggling to stand so close to it but it was a smell Lucifer was very familiar with.

Raphael stood, scratching at his head, and side eyed Lucifer with a stoic expression. "We gained a lot of information tonight, well, a lot more than we had, but it has only bred more questions," he muttered frustratingly and dropped his hand. He lifted his face to the night sky.

"No kidding," Lucifer grouched. "The thing knew my name."

"Did it?" Raphael questioned curiously.

"It said I've grown," he added as he flicked the cigarette bud across the parking lot and cracked his knuckles again.

"You've grown? Since you were an angel then," Raphael mumbled, recalling that Lucifer had only changed his appearance after he had fallen. "That does, actually, narrow our search down."

"Sure it does," Lucifer drawled sarcastically as he stood lazily and turned his eyes towards the rest of the parking lot.

"Why don't you go home to Natalie?" Raphael chose to jump onto another topic, satisfied he had gotten all the information he could from Lucifer.

"Mind your own damn business," Lucifer shot back but lifted a hand to his face as frustration welled within his chest. His heart ached to be by her side, but everything else warred against it, and he refused to see her until he had sorted himself out.

Raphael sighed and dusted his hands off with a clap. "Fine, do what you need to do, but she's more vulnerable without you by her side, so hurry it up."

"Listen, you nosy ass-," Lucifer exclaimed but cut himself off once Raphael had disappeared in a flash of light. He growled viciously and about faced, marching off into the wooded area next to the hospital, while Pax followed behind at a leisurely pace.

"Where'd he run off to?" Pax called out to him as he traipsed through the foliage without a care in the world, it would seem.

"Probably to find Gabriel," Lucifer shot back as he shoved past a branch irritably. The foliage bounced back and smacked Pax in the face as he attempted to follow in his master's footsteps. He flailed about for a moment before pushing through with a curse. "Or maybe to talk to the shopkeep since _someone_ ," here Lucifer shot a dirty look back at Pax from over his shoulder, "Was dumb enough to destroy my book."

"It wasn't me!" Pax cried and hurried to catch up to Lucifer.

"No, but you watched him do it with a stupid look on your face," Lucifer muttered and stepped over a log, he glanced over to Pax, "Like that one."

Pax scowled, "Why are we walking through the woods, anyways?"

"Because I bloody well feel like it. You decided to follow," Lucifer said and slid down a steep incline into a clearing where a small stream cut through the woods. He brushed his hands off as he straightened and shuffled into the clearing determinedly.

"You're in a mood," Pax muttered as he followed. "But seriously, why?"

Lucifer paused in exasperation and lunged for Pax's hood as he passed, tripping him as he walked and shoved his face into the ground. "That," he pointed with a finger at a splatter of tar among the leaves of the forest floor, "is why. Can you shut up now? Before I shove your own foot down your throat?"

Pax pushed his head up with some effort and frowned. "Fine."

"Jesus," Lucifer breathed as he stood and continued down the path left for him. That thing had gotten away, or, what he had faced was just an extension of it. Either way, it was still alive and kicking and it needed to be dealt with. To hell with whatever Raphael said.


	15. Let it be

The two continued their trek through the woods, shuffling through the foliage, but Pax remained silent. His commentary had ended when Lucifer had threatened physical harm and he had decided to take it seriously. It was a wise choice. But the silence had slowly grown more and more tense the further they got. The night only seemed to get darker.

Tree trunks were painted with tar and the leaves were withering and dying the deeper they traveled. Strands of the black slime hung from branches and soon, the trees themselves were rotting away, and the surrounding area was devoid of any life.

Lucifer's face had been bored, but now, he wore a frown. His shoulders were once more taut and straight as he padded through the mud and tar. It was cool to the touch, but thick, and tried to trip him up as he walked. The stream that had been running alongside them was choked with the stuff and dead fish and frogs littered its surface and banks.

Pax had kicked his shoes off long ago, having lost them to a thick puddle, and trotted just behind him barefoot.

"It stinks," Pax muttered at some point, lifting a hand to his nose as he did.

Lucifer made no comment, but he thought that Pax would have said the same about Hell had it not been eliminated. The demon would have ended up there had he died. He pulled a rotting branch from a tree as he walked and idly spun it about in his fingers as his eyes scanned the trees ahead.

He stepped into a clearing and paused. Pax nearly ran into him but pulled the breaks just in time and looked over his shoulder curiously.

It was all tar and mud, seeping down into a pit, where something sat still as a stone. It was a hunched figure, shoulders bony in the moonlight, while long tendrils of hair that fell passed its back and deep into the muck below where it fanned out like roots of a tree. They wriggled through the mud and slithered out over the edge of the pit and split off into the surrounding woods. The spiderweb of evil that had taken up roost within Natalie's hometown was very concerning.

"Looks like we found the snakes head," Lucifer drawled as he tossed the stick to the side where it fell into the mud and was seen no more.

The figure flinched and its head turned up to look at them, violet eyes glowing in the darkness, and grinned.

 _"Apt words, Lucifer,"_ it hissed. Its voice echoed around them and the dead trees ominously.

"You don't seem to be getting any prettier, so I don't quite see what the point is of collecting all those kids souls," he observed dryly in response. Now that he had a mind to pay attention, he could tell the creature had once been a woman, based off the bony hips and sagging breasts under the dripping tar.

A wet gurgling chuckle was his answer in the too still night.

The hairs on the back of Pax's neck stood on end as the thing turned in its spot, cracking and squelching and reached to pull itself out of the pit.

 _"My vanity far exceeds physical appearances,"_ it rattled as it perched on the edge of the pit, crouching in the mud.

"You could say that again," Lucifer muttered with a snort. "What's your end game?"

 _"Control of all living things, the world within my grasp, God . . .the usual conquest,"_ it responded with another wet laugh before it choked and spat up a glob of the tar.

"Boring," Lucifer bemoaned and reached for his back, pulling out a line of fire before him, and let it drop to the mud below. A glowing whip was held loosely between his hands, though it radiated intense heat, and boiled the mud below.

 _"You can try, Lucifer, but this is only one part of me. I've made myself very comfortable in the pits of this Earth,"_ she hissed darkly.

"Can't say I wasn't asking for a fight," Lucifer growled as he lifted his arm and snapped the whip. It lunged out at the figure, lashing around her wrist, and dragged her into the ground. The cord ate into her muck covered flesh, sending out a horrid stench, and causing her to scream. "I thought this was just an extension?" he mocked with a sardonic grin and pulled on the whip, dragging her closer.

The figure laughed through the pain as sections of her hair shot out of the mud and wrapped around his ankles. They pulled him off his feet and he was dragged through the mud while he dug a hand into the earth in an effort to fight against the surprising strength she exhibited. When he has close enough, she lunged forward, landing on top of him as she chuckled. Hands, cold and bony, gripped his shoulders as her rotting breath filled his nose.

"Well, you have me now," he commented dryly as a long fork tongue fell from her mouth to dance across his chest.

 _"You taste so sweet and dark,"_ she giggled.

"Ugh," he grunted in disgust and reached up with a hand to grab her face and pushed her off of him. He held her down in the mud, drowning her within her own muck, while her body flailed around him. Fingers scrabbled at his arm and her hair lashed out to ensnare him. It wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso all the while his stance never moved.

With a flick of his wrist the whip danced about him, burning the hair away as it did, but it was quickly replaced by more strands.

"Master," Pax called nervously from where he stood at the edge of the clearing, hands in his pockets, certain that Lucifer would be able to defeat the small figure easily. It was taking longer than he thought it would, however, and called forth in a questioning manner. He was unsure if he should step in and offer assistance. He knew that Lucifer had needed to blow off some steam and did not want to overstep. But it was starting to look as if he were struggling.

"Not now," Lucifer grunted as the body beneath him twisted and the neck snapped. She was still very much alive, however, as her legs came up beneath him and shoved for all she was worth. The force of the kick sent him flying into the pit, the tar and mud sloshing about beneath him as he landed, and he grunted. Though he didn't need to breathe, the breath was still knocked from his lungs, and the world spun for a moment. He pushed himself upright in the pit and ripped a jagged branch from where it had embedded itself within his shoulder irritably.

In the same movement, the creature used the momentum to flip herself back onto her feet and set her sights on Pax.

"Bring it, bimbo," Pax muttered and spat on the ground before he pushed the sleeves of his jacket up and launched himself at her. In mid air he dropped his foot onto her shoulder and sent her crashing to the ground as he rolled forward through the mud to ease impact. He wasted no time and spun about in a crouch with claws extended, ready to slice her throat, but as he lurched forward something sharp pierced his flesh and he gasped.

She was crouched catlike before him and a strand of her hair had shot out as he spun around and punctured his chest as easily as a hot knife through butter.

Pax spat out a glob of blood and wiped his mouth with a grin. "It'll take more than that to kill me," he growled and pushed himself to his feet, grabbing at the thick wad of hair.

 _"I'm well aware,"_ she assured him mockingly as several other strands of hair shot out to pierce his shoulders, thighs, and arms. She pushed him back until he was pinned to the ground itself, unable to move with his limbs trapped, he felt like a frog in a high school science lab.

"What do you think you're doing?" he cried as she crawled over him, pushing him into the mud, and slammed her palm across his forehead. Combined with the loss of blood and the rock she had just bashed his head into, his world was spinning.

 _"Come to me, little one,"_ she crooned and crooked a finger before his eyes, _"I'll take you to a nice place where you can finally rest, little one, and you can sleep and dream of better times."_

Pax blinked against the darkness that threatened to overtake him. He was losing too much blood, he knew. He wouldn't die from it, but passing out was definitely a possibility, and he couldn't afford that in that moment. He grunted, but as his mind slipped away, her voice sounded sweeter and sweeter to his ears. He blinked again and it wasn't a slopping hag that crouched over him but a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

She smiled down at him, eyes twinkling in the sunlight, and it was a wondrous garden that surrounded them. She cocked her head with a giggle and rubbed his cheek endearingly.

"Won't you stay?" she asked him sweetly.

Everything felt so nice and warm, and his body was so tired, he shut his eyes against the sunlight and breathed in the scent of pine and fresh dirt. The sun kissed his face, and for a moment, he was back in Heaven.

Lucifer roared in frustration as he finally pulled himself out of the hole, covered head to toe in tar, and looking like a beast pulling itself from the pits of Hell. The irony was not lost on him as he stumbled to his feet and ran a hand through his muddied hair, slicking it back, before he scanned his surroundings and froze.

The thing was hunched over Pax and clasped within her hands was a glowing orb, blue in color, and flickering between her fingers frantically. His eyes widened and the rage that burned within him was ferocious. The fact that she dared to go after his underling when his back was turned infuriated him. There would be no mercy for her when he got his hands on her.

"Get the fuck away from him!" He exploded with rage and shot off towards her like the devil he was. The whip was left behind and his claws were free to rend her flesh as she lifted her hands to her mouth and swallowed the soul with a cackle. He watched as the pale light flickered through her flesh, sliding down her throat, as his hands came down towards her neck.

 _"He's mine now!"_ she crowed and did not even scream as Lucifer beheaded her and shoved an arm down her exposed esophagus in desperation. Her head fell to the mud with a muffled thud and splash as he sifted through the innards of the corps in search of the glowing ball of light that had been Pax's soul. His grip on the body slipped and he struggled to keep it upright as his fingers shoved through what could barely be considered organic matter. He was up to his bicep in rotting tar and flesh when he sat back on the ground and pulled his arm free of the body, allowing it to fall back in the mud, dazed. His chest heaved for breath as mounting anger and frustration searched for an escape.

His stared down at his hand, dirty and covered in disgusting bodily fluids, while his mind worked to piece together what had just happened.

He turned his head to Pax, lying prone in the mud, covered in tar just as Lucifer himself was. But he was also painted in blood and staring sightlessly into the night sky. The hair that had pinned him to the ground was now limp as it had been when they first arrived.

Lucifer pushed himself to his feet and shuffled over to him before he dropped to his knees and pulled the hair from his wounds. It must have gone down into the earth by several feet, as he had pulled for quite some time before all wounds were cleared of the stuff. Lucifer stared down at the demon, lost in his own emotions, before he lifted hand and shut his too blue eyes.

Silently, he slid his arms under the body and lifted him as he stood. With unsteady footing, he worked his way back through the woods, one step at a time. But Pax never opened his eyes again. And Lucifer wandered for the first time what he should do. Heaven was no more but he couldn't simply bury him anywhere. He wanted to bring him to Natalie's home, but he did not want to see her face when he showed up towing the body of her friend, it would shatter whatever composure he had. And her heart.

At some point he had reached a road and staggered to the back of a building, it looked like a gas station, and leaned his back against the wall before he slumped to the ground with Pax in his arms. Sightless yellow eyes stared up into the night sky. He was cold and dirty and probably stank, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Vaguely, in the far back of his mind, he realized that the tar was sapping his strength. It was concentrated evil that had been growing at the bottom of hell for thousands of years, and he had just bathed in it, but he was far too gone to connect the thought to others and so took no action on it.

How was it fair to any of them that they were still struggling, fighting, and dying?

He couldn't help but feel as if he was the cause of it all. If he had just suffered in silence, no one would have had to die, no one would have had to fight, and all the world would be at peace.

Instead, he was sitting behind a gas station in an ally that smelled of piss and rotting food, clutching the corpse of a good friend and follower, and struggling to decide on what to do. He banged his head on the brick wall behind him, yearning for the pain to kick start his brain, but to no avail.

The sound of a phone ringing brought his attention to Pax. His jean pocket lit up as the standard T-mobile jingle played, breaking the silence that had fallen over Lucifer, and he reached into his pocket to retrieve it.

"Hello?" he answered quietly, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Where did you two go?" Raphael asked from the other side. He sounded tired and a bit exasperated.

A small but sad smile grew as Lucifer shut his eyes, "You know, being stupid. I need your help, Raph."

"Where's Pax?" Raphael asked darkly.

Lucifer did not respond.

"I see," Raphael mumbled before he disconnected and appeared before Lucifer in a flash of light minutes later. Eyes wide and fists clenched at the sight before him. Lucifer sat huddled on the ground, skin black and caked in tar, eyes glowing dimly in the dark, and his horns grey in the first rays of the morning sun as it struggled to beat back the shadows of the ally. Pax could have been sleeping in his arms, head resting on his shoulder and eyes closed, if it weren't for the bloody wounds and stillness of his chest.

"I…" Lucifer began but cut himself off, he had nothing to say. The boy was dead because of him and while he had once prided himself on being stoic, there were tears threatening to fall.

"It's not your fault," Raphael mumbled and crouched down before him.

"Shut up," Lucifer spat and clutched the body to his chest. "It is and you fucking know it," he growled against the emotions welling up in his throat. "That bitch," he bit out through clenched teeth, "She took his soul."

"She?" Raphael questioned.

"Some bitch from Hell, I don't fucking know!" he shouted as anger burned within him again, "But I'm going to get it back." He dropped his eyes to his knees, refusing to look at the body in his lap, as the tears finally fell. Why couldn't he do anything right? He screwed up Heaven, screwed up Earth, screwed up the apocalypse, screwed up with Natalie, and now Pax lay dead in his arms because he fucking screwed up in a fight. The tar was getting to him. It was sapping his strength and mind. He was never one to cry over self pity, get angry, yes, but never mope.

Raphael rested a hand on his shoulder and gripped it, silently offering support, as his own tears spilled forth for their fallen brother. "We have to tell Natalie," Raphael whispered in the wake of Lucifer's explosion and met glistening golden eyes.

Lucifer shook his head, "It will break her heart, I can't . . ." he bit his lip.

"We must," Raphael murmured and stood to help pull Lucifer to his feet. "We can't hide it from her and her house is the only place we can lay him to rest peacefully," he pleaded as Lucifer stared up at him like a lost child, "It would be silly and incredibly insensitive to try and hide it from her."

Lucifer dropped his head in Pax's shoulder before he used the wall as a support to stumble back to his feet. He stared at the ground for a few moments, gathering his thoughts, and attempting to compose himself. After a few moments, Lucifer summoned another portal of shadows and stepped through while Raphael disappeared in a flash of light.

Natalie woke to quiet murmuring that quickly escalated into shouts of alarm. She gasped, sitting up in bed, and threw the blankets off as she stumbled to her feet and rushed for the door. She paused, pulling it open quietly, and listened for the voices downstairs.

"What the fuck happened?"

It was Felix she heard first and he sounded distraught as she slipped out the door and descended the stairs into the dining room. The sliding glass door was open and she could see Felix standing over a dark figure seated on the patio steps. The light on the patio threw everyone into contrasting shadows as she approached. Raphael stood before the dark figure with his arms crossed and eyes cast to the ground below.

"Master!" Felix cried after a few moments of no response.

"Lucifer?" Natalie questioned quietly. She stepped out onto the patio in a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top, feet bare in the cool morning, and her hair falling about her shoulders. The sky was orange as the sun rose and it painted the scene warmly but as Lucifer turned to look over his shoulder at her, her heart shattered.

He was dirtied and covered in black tar and mud, his flesh still dark and cracked beneath, but tear trails cut through the dirt upon his face. She could see Pax held within his arms, he clutched at the demon as if his life depended on it, but the boy's arm hung limply at his side. Natalie's breath caught within her chest and she lifted a hand as if to help but based off Lucifer's tears, Felix's anger, and Raphael's refusal to look her in the eye, she knew he was gone.

That image would forever be etched within her mind.

Golden eyes lifted to hers, saddened and desperate for her, and she could not resist their pull and need for help.

Natalie stepped forward and dropped down to her knees before him, wrapping her arms around him, and pulled his head to her shoulder.

Felix lifted his hands to his face at the sound of her knees hitting the wooden deck. He had been in denial but her actions solidified his worst fears within his mind like ice. Tears fell and he wondered why it was that he kept losing his closest friends. He cried harder than he ever had before in his entire existence. Even when Anthea had passed, he had refused to mourn for too long, because he knew she would not have wanted him to. But now, another friend had been taken from him, and he couldn't take the pain. Not again.

But this time, this time, he took the hand that reached for him. Arms wrapped around him as he cried into strawberry blond hair for all that he was worth. And he didn't mind the sweet nothings she murmured into his ear or the way she rubbed his back like a child, because he was desperate to feel as if he still had someone there for him.

"Natalie," Raphael called quietly as Lucifer stood on the steps, Pax still held within his arms, having stood when Natalie left him to comfort Felix.

She lifted tear filled eyes to the two of them over Felix's head. She did not have the heart to speak in that moment but her questioning look had confirmed that she heard him.

"We need to get these two cleaned up," Raphael mumbled quietly in the hushed morning.

Natalie nodded understandingly and glanced down at Felix. As if summoned, Michael arrived at the sliding glass door wearing a grim expression. She smiled sadly upon sighting him and gestured towards Felix with her eyes.

"Michael, will you call Laila for me?" she asked through her own tears, struggling against sobs, so that she could support the little hellion in her arms.

Michael nodded and lifted his arms, gesturing for him to come back inside, and he wrapped an arm around Felix as he passed. Michael helped to get him settled on the couch, took his boots off and wrapped him in a blanket, before he made the call to Laila.

Natalie had remained on the patio but turned back just as Lucifer reluctantly allowed Raphael to take Pax from his arms. The archangel cradled him as gently as he could and lead the way back into the house while Lucifer trailed behind. He set one dirty foot onto the hardwood floor and reality seemed to shift. There were so many memories of Pax in that house but he refused to acknowledge them as he followed Raphael upstairs to the guest bathroom where they would clean his wounds and dress him in better clothes before laying him to rest.

"Raphael," Natalie called as she followed them into the bathroom. She slid passed Lucifer and crouched down to whisper in the archangels ear.

His eyes widened a second before he nodded once and turned the water on in the tub, watching as it turned black with tar and mud, before he let out a sigh.

Lucifer looked at her curiously, but he was tired, and did not have the energy to try and get an answer out of her. Instead, he allowed her to lead him out of the guest bathroom and over to her own. She turned the shower on for him.

"You need to get cleaned up," she commented with a sniffle and gestured for him to step in while she pulled a clean towel from the wrack by the door and set it on the back of the toilet by the shower.

Lucifer ran a hand through his hair and felt the resistance of dried mud. He pulled his sandals off, one after the other, before he untied the remainder of his robes and dropped them to the floor. He would grab them later after he had washed all that he could from his flesh and felt more himself again.

Natalie set the shoes and clothing aside before she returned to the kitchen, she could hear Felix crying in the living room and Michael speaking into a phone from her office, and the water running in both bathrooms, and it all felt so wrong. She sniffled again and decided on making coffee for the morning, finding comfort in the routine, and hoping the hot beverage would help. Somehow.

She made as much coffee as the pot would allow before she poured herself a cup, mixed in cream and sugar, and set it on the counter before her as she stared into the beige concoction in a daze. After a moment, she picked the cup up and took it outside onto the patio with her. She slid the glass door shut behind her and stepped forward to sit on the steps of the deck, where Lucifer had sat earlier, and set her coffee down next to her.

It was then that she allowed herself to cry.

Heaving sobs wracked her body as storm clouds rolled in to overtake the sunny morning. The coffee cup puffed hot steam into the cool morning air as Jekyll padded towards her from the depths of the backyard to offer her comfort.


	16. Cosmic Love

Natalie took a sip of her coffee long after it had grown cold. The dark storm clouds continued to roil in the sky overhead and rain poured down upon the town, an unusual amount for that time of year, but not unheard of. The water pattered down through the canopies of the old oaks in her backyard, and puddles formed between their roots, while squirrels and birds took up roost among the branches for shelter.

Natalie watched from the steps of the patio deck, the overhanging roof protecting her from the rain, as she sipped her coffee. She was lost in a daze and her eyes were unfocused. The emotional turmoil she felt had exhausted her mentally and physically, absently, she had hoped the coffee would bring her back to reality so she could help those that needed it.

Jekyll had appeared a bit smaller before her and crawled onto the patio deck to lay behind her and offer her support and warmth. He had no words to give her. He was not an emotional creature and only understood that she was sad and he needed to protect her in such a state.

It was cold outside, even more so with the rain, and her breath fogged up before her after each sip. She could imagine the coffee was still hot that way and that her toes weren't freezing.

For once, she wished her house was empty, so that she could mourn at her own pace. But there were others who were upset and she needed to do her best to offer as much support as she could.

"Natalie?"

Green eyes stared ahead sightlessly but she responded after a moment's pause, "Yeah?"

"Do you mind if Felix and I stay here for a few days?" Laila asked from the sliding glass door. She was dressed in a purple top that hung off one shoulder, a black sports bra, and black leggings. It looked as if she had just been getting ready for her morning run when Michael had called her.

"Stay as long as you need," she said with forced cheerfulness after clearing her throat.

"Thanks," Laila mumbled and stood in the door for a few minutes, unsure of how to help, as she was never good in such situations. Some ideas had formed in her mind but she held off on voicing them as it seemed Natalie was mourning herself and she did not want to bother her. She stepped back into the house and shut the sliding glass door with a sigh. Felix had fallen silent in the living room and Michael had taken to standing at the kitchen sink, staring out through the window, while he bit the nail of a thumb in thought.

She had gotten to know Pax very well over the years, as he and Felix were partners in crime, but she had always dealt with death a little differently. Sure, she was sad, but she was also able to still function through her sadness. It was then that she decided to step up and help the household back to its feet. Natalie couldn't always be the one supporting everyone and lifting them up, she was only one person, so with that in mind she cracked her knuckles with a sigh.

First thing first, she decided with a raised brow as she eyed the trail of dirty footprints leading upstairs, the house was a mess and needed a good cleaning. Secondly, they needed some good comfort food for later in the day when they had calmed themselves enough to feel hungry. And thirdly, Gabriel needed to be informed as he was far more kindly and caring than Laila and could offer more emotional support than she could.

* * *

Lucifer stood in the bathroom and ran a hand through his hair while he examined his human face in the mirror. It had taken him a bit of effort but he had managed to change his form. After so long in his natural state, it was hard to pull the face back on, but he didn't want to cause Natalie anymore stress. He looked like his usual twenty-five your old self that he had taken to appearing as for Natalie's sake. It was close enough to his usual chosen age range, so he didn't mind the shift.

He braced his hands on the bathroom counter top and stared down into the sink, frustrated beyond belief for his own stupidity. He had flipped out over an existential crises, of all things, and lost a life because of it. Had he waited for Raphael to provide further impute, collect more information, and gone in with a full team Pax would still be alive.

But he had wanted to blow off steam and prove he was a bad ass and could stop the thing on his own. He snorted in disgust as he prodded the healing puncture wound on his shoulder where a branch had split flesh during his fall into the pit. It was still bleeding a bit but the skin was beginning to mend.

With a snap of his fingers, his was wearing sweatpants again, and he pulled a tank top on after as he remembered Natalie's decree that he not walk through the house shirtless. She had let him slide a few times but now was not an opportune moment, he thought.

When he came down stairs, he found Laila with a mop in hand, cleaning up the mess he had left with his trek through the house. She glanced up as he descended the steps and offered a quick wave before she returned to her task.

"Where's Nat?" he asked. He could see Gabriel cooking in the kitchen but made no comment on it as he glanced about the rest of the room.

"On the patio," Laila answered with a sigh and thumbed over towards the sliding glass door.

Lucifer grunted and was stepping out onto the patio moments later, sliding the door shut behind him, and skirted around Jekyll's tail to find Natalie staring out into the rainy backyard. He rubbed the back of his head, unsure of how to handle the situation because he felt like she was a balloon ready to pop, before he decided to sit down on the top step next to her.

Without so much as a word she reached over for his hand and curled her fingers through his, never once taking her eyes from the trees, and gave a tight lipped smile.

Lucifer watched her for a moment, wide eyed, and surprised that she was so ready and willing to accept him still when he had run off on her. He dropped his gaze to their hands before his ears drooped and he turned to look out at the backyard as well. "I'm sorry," he mumbled a few moments later and tightened his own grip on her hand.

Natalie lowered her eyes to the grass just before them and whispered, "Don't do that to me again."

Lucifer nodded once, jaw tight against emotions, and wished he had a cigarette.

"I'm serious, Lucifer, I can't do this alone," she added with a shaky voice and wiped at her eyes. "You said no more apocalypses, no more running off into dangerous situations . . ."

"I know, kid, I'm sorry," he muttered and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He didn't bother trying to excuse his actions, because she was right, he had been wrong to run off and go head first into a fight just to prove his worth to no one but himself.

Neither one of them had the strength to argue in that moment, they were both physically and emotionally exhausted, but Natalie continued with a shuddering sigh, "You don't understand, Lucifer." She grasped his hand tightly as she felt her chest tighten and panic slither to life in her limbs. She was afraid to tell him, afraid that he would run away again, and that she would be left to sort things out on her own. She bit her lip and squeezed his hand as hard as she could as fear turned her blood cold.

"It's alright, Nat, I'm not going anywh-."

"I'm pregnant."

Natalie hunched forward as Lucifer stared with wide eyes, looking as if he had seen a ghost, before he jumped to his feet and jerked back as if he had been stung. The wooden railing cracked as his back smacked into it and he lifted his hands to his head.

Silence fell between them and the only sound to be heard was the rain and thunder as it intensified. Sheets of water fell over the backyard as wind whipped it about and sent it cascading through the leaves of the trees.

Lucifer's eyes did not move from Natalie's back as his fingers grasped at his head, overwhelmed, and he stumbled back up onto the deck with a grunt. Jekyll lifted his head to watch his master curiously as he shuffled back into one of the wicker chairs and knocked it over, startling himself with a curse. He chose to brace himself against the railing of the deck and stare down at the gravel, drowning in rain water, below the patio with wide and unseeing eyes.

"Umm," he tried to force himself to speak, but nothing came, and he chuckled nervously. Disbelief was the only emotion he felt in that moment. If not disbelief than mania, because becoming a father had never even crossed his mind in the thousands of years he had lived, and he was the Devil. He rocked back on one foot, needing to work out the energy rising within him somehow, and ran a hand through his hair.

Natalie's heart broke for the second time that day and she struggled to breathe against the pain. She needed him so desperately in that moment, because something was stealing the souls of children, while she herself was pregnant. She was terrified and stressed beyond all possible limits. But he looked as if he was going to run and it tore her to pieces.

"Fuck. Natalie, I-," he cut himself off and stood straight, rocking on the balls of his feet, and covered his face with his hands.

"It's alright," she murmured. "I just thought you should know. I'd understand if you wanted to-."

"Shut up," he cut her off with a raised hand, the other still covering his face, "Just shut up. Stop letting your brain run haywire."

She lowered her eyes to her feet, hands shaking in her lap, and struggled against further tears.

"I don't care if I am a father," he finally forced out between grit teeth and a tight jaw, "I don't care about having responsibilities or any of that bullshit." He finally pulled his hands away and dropped to his knees before her as she turned in her spot to look at him, "But Natalie, you have to understand, that I-," he struggled to continue and grabbed her by the shoulders imploringly, "Natalie, I am the Devil. I am Satan. You do realize that any child of mine is considered . . ."

She nodded with a watery smile, struggling to piece her heart back together, and wiped at her eyes. "But the apocalypse already happened, so I figured, what the hey?" she mumbled through her tears and lifted her hands in a shrug.

Lucifer stared at her searchingly, eyes jumping from the other, with drooped ears and scrunched brows. His grip on her shoulders tightened momentarily.

"Natalie, I . . ." He what? He didn't even know. His chest was tight and his heart ached for all that had happened and now a bomb had been dropped and he couldn't decide if it was good or bad. "I don't deserve you," he finally forced out, "You beautiful, beautiful thing." He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear with shaking hands.

Natalie dropped her gaze to her hand, resting upon one of his knees, as sadness washed through her again.

"Hey," he called quietly and grinned nervously as her eyes lifted to his again, "It'll be okay. We'll figure everything out."

"What do you want to do?" she asked in a whisper.

Inside the house, Laila continued to clean while Gabriel clattered about in the kitchen. Michael was shouting something as the sound of the front door opening filtered through the glass of the sliding door, Max's voice greeted Michael's, followed by Chelle's. It seemed Laila was taking control of that mornings events and bringing everyone together to discuss how to proceed and, hopefully, bring a little cheer back into their hearts.

Lucifer bit his lip, drawing blood with a canine, and stared into her eyes. He was searching deeper than he had since before his fall, pulling up the deepest strands of thought, in order to answer her as truthfully as he could. Her voice rang through, as he recalled not but a week ago, when she had asked him how he wanted to handle a situation. "I . . . we . . .," he scowled in frustration as he struggled to answer but her patience never wavered. "Fuck it," he finally spat out with his signature sardonic grin, "Let's prove them wrong."

The smile that claimed Natalie's face was well worth it, he decided later, because she had lit up that whole backyard as the rain slowed to a stop.


	17. Pompeii

The house was full when they both stepped in through the sliding glass door. Lucifer shut the door behind them and stood behind Natalie, sensing her hesitation, before he guided her forward with a hand to her back. They had decided that now was not the time to share their recent discovery, as several people were mourning, but he knew she felt extremely insecure regardless. He wasn't exactly father material, he knew that without a doubt, and so he had promised to be by her side from that moment on.

The house was full of demons, angels, and people from the bar and there was enough noise to put any doubts to rest. They only people missing were the horsemen, but they were scouring the world in search of Death, so it was to be expected.

Raphael was just descending the stairs when he caught sight of Lucifer and Natalie and he smiled. He had washed Pax up as best he could and changed him into a set of clothes provided to him by Felix, before leaving him to rest in one of the empty guest bedrooms. He was tired, and very much sad, but the sight of the couple sharing knowing looks as they slipped through the crowd was enough to lift his spirits.

It was decided that everyone was to gather in the living to discuss their friend's passing, and when that was done, a few would remain to plan out their next course of action.

Gabriel had cooked up a beef stew, packed with vegetables, and ladled it into bowls for guests as they arrived. It was an easy enough meal to stomach and provided more mobility as people shuffled about to talk to each other. Felix had not moved from the couch but Laila had brought him a bowl of his own, though it remained untouched on the coffee table before him, while people sat around him and offered their condolences. Their words meant nothing to him as he had fully retreated into his own mind.

Raphael pushed through the crowd and made his way into the living room, where he set a hand on Felix's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, before he turned to Natalie and Lucifer. The two were standing near the coffee table, discussing plans for the night with Laila, when Raphael joined them. Lucifer eyed him from the corner of his eye, a look that promised a discussion later, and the archangel only lifted a fist to cover the smile that wormed its way onto his face.

"So around eight? We'll kick everyone who doesn't need to be here out," Laila confirmed with Natalie.

"That sounds about right," Natalie answered with a shrug and a nervous laugh.

"Perfect," Laila sighed and retreated to the kitchen to inform Gabriel.

Natalie watched her go before her attention was pulled away with a hand to her shoulder. Green eyes landed on Raphael and she noted that he had gripped Lucifer's shoulder with his other hand. He stood back, gaze flicking between the two, before he patted their shoulders and smiled.

"You sly sonofabitch," Lucifer drawled as he stared down at his brother with crossed arms, but a grin was threatening to overtake the stern expression he wore.

"We do not speak of that name," Raphael shot back with a wink. "Besides, we are desperately in need of some good news," he added with a sigh as he grew serious once more.

"It certainly puts a deadline on us to get this situation sorted out," Lucifer muttered darkly. As if recalling that he had not asked, he grabbed at his forehead, "Natalie, how long?"

"Wha – oh!" she lifted a finger to her chin in thought, "almost two months."

"Jesus," Lucifer murmured and dropped his hand with a sigh.

"I'll take care of everything," Raphael assured the two.

"We got the best doctor in town," Natalie elbowed Lucifer with a laugh but the demon only scowled.

Eventually, as the night wore on, Natalie retreated to the guest bedroom upstairs where Raphael had left Pax's body. As he was a demon, his body would not decompose, and there was no need to worry about when to officially lay him to rest. In fact, Natalie did not plan to lay him to rest at all. She flipped the light switch on in the room and quietly shut the door behind her before shuffling over to the bed.

Pax lay there, still as stone, but his face looked calm and peaceful.

Natalie sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh and reached over to brush a lock of dark hair out of his face. She smiled sadly, missing his sometimes perverse antics, and bit her lip.

She had a theory that she had been sitting on for a while now, ever since Kristi had stumbled into the bar with her soulless sister, and was beginning to form a plan. Alyssa was being held in a hospital on life support, though her body could still function minimally on its own, they wanted to take precautions. If Natalie could somehow return her soul to her body, in theory, Alyssa would be just fine and wake up none the wiser. Following that line of thought, why then, would it be any different for a demon or angel?

They didn't even need to breathe and their bodies would remain in existence as is for all eternity. Essentially, Natalie concluded, their bodies were permanent vessels that were waiting to be used.

That was why, as Raphael was hunched over the tub earlier, she had asked him to leave him in a guest bedroom as opposed to taking him outside to be buried.

"What would we do without you, Pax?" she whispered, "You're the life of the party."

"Natalie?"

Natalie turned her head towards the door, finding a rather serious looking Raphael in the doorway, and pushed herself to her feet with a sigh. "I'm coming," she answered tiredly.

"Everyone is leaving now, so we'll start the meeting in a few minutes," he explained as she padded past him and he flipped the lights off in the room before shutting the door quietly.

"I need another cup of coffee," she groaned with a stretch.

"One cup a day," Raphael warned as he guided her down the hall, "And you shouldn't even be having that much."

"What?" Natalie gasped, a look of horror coming over her face.

Raphael did not react to her dramatics as they descended the stairs into the dining room. They slid down the hall into the living room, which was filled with demons and angels, a few humans, and Pestilence herself. She had arrived moments earlier with Jasper in tow. The two hounds were in the backyard roughhousing as everyone took their seats.

The couches were crowded, as well as the floor, as Natalie picked her way through the room. She was fearful of stepping on someone and glanced up as Lucifer stood from his seat on the couch and offered it to her. She smiled gratefully and dropped into the seat with a sigh. Lucifer leaned his hip on the arm of the couch with crossed arms and a serious expression while the others in the room fell silent.

Raphael kicked the meeting off as he moved to stand before the coffee table with raised hands, asking for their attention, and he cleared his throat. "As you all know, we have recently been struck a huge blow in our endeavor to thwart the creature that has been stealing the souls of the young," he paused and watched as several faces grew grim with the announcement. They all had known, but hearing it spoken so loudly to them all at once made it seem so finite. "However, with that event, we also gained further knowledge on this enemy."

Lucifer pushed himself into a standing position, arms still crossed, and spoke up. "Based off of what the witch told me, she is located underground somewhere, and is only sending out extensions of herself to do her dirty work."

Michael hummed in thought from where he stood by the window, a finger curled to his chin. "You've determined that it is female?"

"She's some type of hag, anyways," Lucifer muttered in return with a shrug. "She's mean, old, and ugly. And wants to take over the world."

"Well that's boring," Uriel mumbled from his seat on the couch and dropped his head into his hand that was propped up on the armrest.

"The important thing here is that we have a better idea of where to look for her," Gabriel admonished with a small frown. He stood in the doorway leading into the kitchen and had materialized parchment and pen to take note of their meeting.

"Cave systems," Natalie thought aloud with a hum.

"Exactly," Lucifer confirmed. "Most likely nearby since she only recently seemed to have regained her strength. I doubt she crawled far," he added with a snort.

"So we move to search through all the local cave systems, but what then?" Laila voiced up from her seat on the floor across the coffee table from Felix. As always, she was steady as she spoke, giving voice to the question they all had.

"I beat the shit out of her."

"I speak with her."

The two opposing voices spoke at the same time, causing eyes to swivel in their direction with varying expressions of confusion and amusement, and the two shot each other knowing looks.

"Natalie," Lucifer groaned in exasperation.

"Lucifer," she shot back teasingly.

"You won't be going anywhere near her," Lucifer growled darkly. He couldn't believe she was trying to make the same argument again. Especially with the news she had just dropped on him. He would not be letting her leave the house much less go traipsing through caves in search of an age old monstrosity that had killed Pax.

"I will," she stated coldly though she fisted her hands in her lap to hide the shaking.

"You have more lives to think about than just your own now, Natalie," Lucifer implored her in a quiet tone, irritated that she would pick now to speak out against him, when so many eyes and ears were present in the room.

"I understand that, dude, but I don't see how this will play out any other way. If you kill her, she'll just come back to me regardless, and might possibly escape again. Why not let me talk to her, understand her, and figure out how to fix things," she argued with scrunched brows.

"Are you fucking kidding me," Lucifer growled and threw his hands up in the air. They were having the same fight they had over a week ago all over again.

"You had no problems with taking me into dangerous situations before," she shot back over her shoulder as she turned her eyes away from him.

"I did a lot of stupid things back then," he countered and turned his eyes on to Raphael, pleading for back up, but the angel had no real argument to provide. He felt that Natalie had just as good a chance as anyone, putting a stop to the monster, even if he didn't like it. "And you ended up dying for it," he added with a scowl upon seeing Raphael's lack of support.

"I did, didn't I?" she muttered, "While we are on the subject, how the heck did you bring me back? As I recall, you cannot bring people back from the dead."

Lucifer cursed and pushed himself away from the couch. "We're not doing this now," he warned darkly.

"You what?" Michael exclaimed from the other side of the room with wide eyes.

"Are you saying that Natalie has been to Hell and back?" Raphael asked, astonished, and dropped his eyes to Natalie with a new respect that he had thought impossible. He had already had the highest of regards for her, but now, she was godly.

"I aint saying shit," Lucifer shot back in hopes of settling the conversation.

"You bribed Death," Michael whispered as the pieces fell together in his mind and he gasped.

"And me," Pestilence added from her seat on one of the dining room chairs that had been brought into the living room. "It was my fault she died to begin with, I infected her," she explained lamely.

"And you thought it a kind gesture to send me his wings, wrapped in a bow," Michael growled. His eyes would have melted anyone who stood before him, such was the fury in their watery depths. His horns grew from his head as he struggled to keep his composure.

"Easy!"

All eyes turned to Natalie as she now stood in the middle of the room, hands raised at her hips, pleading for them all to calm down. Once silence had fallen she dropped her hands as she reviewed the conversation in her mind. She felt many things in that moment: hurt, betrayal, sadness, and guilt. She understood now that Lucifer had given up his wings, his beautiful wings, to save her from the Hell within him. She understood, because she would have done the same if their roles were reversed, however, she did not take kindly to the fact that he hid it from her. She turned her eyes to Lucifer now, as he stood with his back to her with arms crossed, and let out a breath through her nose.

"Lucifer," she called quietly.

"I never wanted you to know what I did for you on April fourth . . ." he muttered lowly.

"I understand," she whispered, "But that does not give you the right to hide that kind of information from me."

Michael was not accepting of the information, it would seem, as his anger did not dwindle. When silence had fallen between the two, he marched up to the devil, cocked his arm back, and punched him square in the jaw.

Lucifer was taken off guard and would have been knocked to his feet if Raphael had not been standing next to him and caught him before he could hit the ground.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Lucifer exclaimed. Blood blossomed in his mouth and the taste of it on his tongue sent his body boiling with rage. Skin cracked and turned black before their eyes and he did not bother to fight it.

"You!" Michael cried and shook his hand to relieve it of the pain, "You asshole, you lectured me for ripping out my own wings but you did the same yourself!"

"Of course I fucking lectured you, you dumbass! I was stupid and so were you!" He cracked his knuckles, preparing to throw his own punch but pain erupted from the side of his head as Natalie stepped forward and grabbed ahold of both their ears, yanking hard, and pulling them to their knees.

"We all love each other and we're stupid!" She shouted over the commotion of the room.

It was at this moment that the front door opened and Alex stepped in, a questioning look upon his face, as he laid eyes upon his daughter. She was holding two demonic monstrosities by their ears as they seethed on the ground like squabbling cats.

"Clearly, you all have a lot of unresolved bullshit," Felix spoke up for the first time that night. He was watching them wearing a rather blasé expression from the couch.

"We can work on that later," Natalie admonished, her gaze never leaving the two before her. She crouched down and wrapped an arm around both of them, bringing them in for a tight hug, and said, "I love you both."

Michael scratched at his nose, embarrassed, as he worked to reclaim his human form.

Lucifer, on the other hand, had shut his eyes and wrapped an arm around her tightly. He did not bother trying to regain the human appearance, choosing to hide his emotions behind his demonic form, but said no more on the subject.

"What did I miss?" Alex asked as he shuffled into the living room with a nervous laugh.

"Everyone being dumb and emotional," Felix grouched.

"Ah, the usual then," Alex responded with a sigh as he took Lucifer's place at the arm of the couch.

"We will search out this woman, subdue her, and allow Natalie the opportunity to speak with her once we are sure it is safe," Raphael commanded after everyone had had a moment to collect themselves.

Lucifer scowled but held his tongue from where he sat on the floor, legs crossed, with a hand entwined with Natalie's. She had sat down on her ankles next to him as Raphael spoke up. She watched Lucifer as he frowned at the floor between them and smiled.

"We'll map out all the large cave systems in California," Raphael continued. "Pestilence, you can then use Jasper to investigate. I have a feeling that our missing Death will be wherever this woman is."

Pestilence hummed in acknowledgement.

"We'll need a strong fighting force," Lucifer added a few moments later. "Michael, Uriel, and . . ." Lucifer trailed off as if a thought had just struck him. "Where the fuck is Zadkiel?"

"Across country, raising some kid she picked up off the streets," Felix voiced after a tense moment of silence while everyone exchanged confused looks.

"Get her ass up here," Lucifer spat. "Nows not the time for living out fantasies," he muttered and pushed himself to his feet.

"I can take care of that, Leader," Zoe spoke up as she entered the living from the kitchen, a large bowl of beef stew in hand. She was just as short as the day Natalie had met her, and she recently returned from her task of patrolling the schools in Southern California. She was sad that Pax had been killed, but she was not much of an emotional person, and so did not dwell on it. This made her the perfect field agent. She was rarely hindered by her mind and remained cold and logical throughout any situation.

Lucifer grunted before he cracked his knuckles, "Good. Now I'm done playing party host, so anyone who isn't sleeping here can get the hell out."

There was much grumbling to be heard as those present, who were not sleeping at the house that night, meandered their way towards the front door. Those who had been appointed tasks split off into the night to see them completed ahead of the slow group who were loath to leave the warmth of the house. It had been a sad and serious occasion but there was no denying the comfort that Natalie brought into anyone's life simply by being present, and her house was like the central hub of all that positive energy.

"I need a cigarette," Lucifer grouched as Laila shut the door after the last guest had left and dusted the imaginary dirt from her hands.

It was a job well done, she felt, as she padded into the kitchen where she had started to pour the remaining beef stew into Tupperware for safe keeping. She was certain no one would have the time to cook over the next few days anyways.

Felix followed Lucifer out onto the back patio to smoke while Gabriel spoke quietly with Raphael in the dining room.

Max soon arrived to assist Laila with cleaning up and to grab a bowl of the cooling stew himself before it was all put away. He was buttering himself a piece of bread while Laila dropped the large pot into the sink to be cleaned out.

Lucifer cupped his hands, still black and lined with red cracks, around the cigarette and lit it with a snap of his fingers. He pulled from it, feeling the acid smoke fill his lungs and burn his throat, before he blew it out into the cool night air. His shoulders relaxed and he glanced back at Felix, sitting on the wicker bench, and sighed.

He knew it would be a while before the kid bounced back fully but Lucifer truly wished he didn't have to, to begin with. He was debating on saying something to him when his eyes caught sight of Natalie, standing in the backyard with both hell hounds at her side, and Pestilence before her. His hackles rose at the thought of Pestilence being anywhere near her, especially without him present and he took off down into the yard with a growl.

"Natalie," he called as he approached.

The two women broke off their conversation to watch as he approached. Natalie smiled as he came to a stop next to her and she reached for his hand without thought. "I was just wishing her luck, it's gonna be a rough couple days, so I wanted to make sure she didn't need anything," Natalie answered his unasked question with a shrug.

"She's got more money stashed away than anyone I know, I'm sure she'll be fine," Lucifer muttered with a raised brow.

"It's called being nice," Natalie shot back with her own brow raised and her hands on her hips.

"The point is, I don't want you anywhere near her," Lucifer cut to the chase with a scowl.

"I'll forgive you for not trusting me," Pestilence drawled as she examined her recently manicured nails. It was safe to assume that the one who had done her nails was no longer among the living. "It would be stupid of me to infect the one being that is holding this world together," she explained with a sigh. But her eyes soon landed on Natalie again and she smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart, but as your boy toy said, I've got resources," she assured the woman with a wink and a wave of her hand.

"Alright," Natalie mumbled hesitantly, wishing there was something she could do regardless.

"I'll give you a ring if I find anything, Lucifer, keep your line open," Pestilence informed as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg.

"Noted," Lucifer said as he looked down on the horsemen with a much calmer expression. He had placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder and pulled her into his side as the horsemen took her leave, disappearing among the trees of the backyard with a begrudging Jasper in tow.

"I hate that woman so much," Lucifer growled as soon as she had gone, tightening his arm around Natalie's shoulders.

"It's alright, dude," she shushed him and pushed him back towards the house.

* * *

"Any word from dad?"

Michael looked up from where he sat in the living room. It was early in the morning, too early for anyone else to be up, but Michael was staring at the TV with vacant eyes when Lucifer padded into the room. At the sound of his voice, his eyes slid back into focus, and he turned his head to watch his brother take a seat on the couch next to him.

Michael ran a hand along the length of one of his horns as he thought before letting out a breath through his nose. "No," he admitted quietly, "I don't think he would wish to speak to me regardless."

"He would too," Lucifer muttered and crossed his arms on the couch.

An awkward silence fell between them for a few moments, Michael's eyes cast down to his hands, before he asked, "Have you ever tried . . .talking . . . to him?"

Lucifer rubbed at his face as the news played out across the TV and lit the dark room better than the few rays of the sun that had risen at that time. He let out a loaded sigh. "No," he finally shot back curtly.

Michael hummed in thought as his eyes returned to the television, "Maybe you should try."

"I'm not praying to father," Lucifer said matter of fact and shot a frown in his brother's direction. "He-," he cut himself off and pushed himself out of the couch to stand.

"I'm just saying, Luce, that now is as good a time as any. If we can get his help then we might not even need Natalie to talk," Michael said quietly as he flipped to another station on the TV.

Lucifer paused, mid-step, and turned back to look at his brother over his shoulder. "Back to your manipulative ways, are you?" he drawled with a bored expression. Clearly, he was unimpressed. "At least as a demon it suits you."

Michael looked down with a single nod before he ground out through grit teeth, "I'm not stupid you know, and I love Natalie just as much as the next person, so any chance we have to keep her off the front lines is worth it!"

Lucifer scowled, "You're not stupid?"

"No," Michael shot back, "I know she's pregnant, you asshole."

At that, Lucifer's ears fell, and he stared at his brother open mouthed.

"Now try talking to dad before I beat it out of you," he muttered darkly, eyes blazing in the early morning and horns glowing blue. He was so tense Lucifer was sure he was about to spring off the couch and attack him. "I don't-," he cut himself off and bit his lip, "I don't want to lose any other part of this family . . ."

Lucifer was silent, awestruck by his brother's admission, and glanced down at the rug beneath his feet before he nodded and walked away. Michael did not watch him go, but he saw the movement from the corner of his eye, and let his shoulder's drop once he was certain his brother had left the room.


	18. Everything Stays II

A/N- Hey guys, I hope you have been enjoying this story. I never really bothered to post an author's note because this had originally started out as a one shot, buuuuuuut, the words kept on coming. I feel now that I should inform you that every chapter title is a song used for inspiration of that chapter. I am bringing this to your attention because, for the first time, I am reusing a song. It is a different variation of the original, but I stumbled across it and it fit the scene below so perfectly I had to use it again. Because this chapter is such a prominent moment for this one character, I have notated when you should start the song to fit the mood.

The song of this chapter is "Everything Stays" by PurpleRoselyn on Youtube. Give it a listen.

Enoy~

* * *

Deep breath.

Lungs expanded and pulled in the cold morning air, reveling in the oxygen, and contracted, pushing it back out in a foggy cloud that danced through the air before dissipating. Golden eyes watched it disappear absently, mind elsewhere, but attracted to the movement.

Lucifer stood in the wet grass, covered with half frozen droplets of dew, and wiggled his toes thoughtlessly. He wore a black shirt and jeans but no shoes, deciding that it would offer him more connection to the Earth below him, as the few rays of the sun that peeked through the trees slowly rose. Sliding shadows crossed his broad shoulders while his mind pondered over what words to use.

Fists clenched at his sides as he dropped his eyes to the grass below and his shoulders hunched. Eyes squeezed shut against the emotions roiling within his chest along with the freshly supplied oxygen.

He never thought such a day would come. A day where he would reach out, to his own father, and ask for . . . what was he even asking for? Help? No, he decided, he had no right to ask for help when he first needed to beg forgiveness.

The realization left him reeling.

For the first time in a very long time, longer than he could ever remember, he dropped to his knees and lifted his eyes to the skies above. He didn't pay attention to the dew that wet his jeans and pricked his flesh with its cold kiss. Arms rested upon his knees and hands fell between his legs to hang uselessly.

Breath fogged the air before him again as his gazed flickered between the clouds he could see through the canopies of the grand oaks around him.

Somewhere, a bird chirped, joyful of the new morning. But, other than that moment of song, the yard was quiet in the heavy morning. Nothing stirred around him.

"Father . . ."

The word hung in the moist cold air, like the fog of his breath, before it too dissipated.

He clenched his fists again and lowered his face to the ground. It was too much. Everything weighed down upon him like Atlas struggling beneath the world, arms trembling, to hold humanity up. He wondered if this was how Natalie felt.

How could he even begin to ask forgiveness for all that he had done?

"Father," he tried again, "What have I done?"

(((Everything Stays)))

It was a question that had lingered at the back of his mind since the day he had fallen. He had ignored it, refusing to acknowledge it, and danced around it as skillfully as any ballet. But now, now was the time to ask himself, what had he truly done? He could not ignore the lurking wolf within his mind any longer. Its fangs were drawn and hackles raised, ready to pounce as it had been for far too long.

He reached out with his hands, nestling them within the wet grass, and gripped the Earth before him as if he would be ripped away from the ground at any moment.

"I've destroyed everything," his whispered, eyes wide, and grit his teeth against a swell of emotions he was not at all used to. "But you made me this way," he muttered angrily. "Why?"

And then, then he rested his forehead upon the ground as tears of anger and hurt fell to mingle among the dew drops and fresh life of that morning.

It wasn't the time to question his father, he realized, and struggled to let the anger go. That was not why he was reaching out to him that day. He had spent many a night questioning his father before he fell and never received an answer, and he suspected he never would, so what was the point any longer? It was not his place to ask why he had been made the way he had, instead, he realized, he needed to focus on what he did with himself. Heaven was no more, and he now had a future, as questionable as it was. He had asked for a purpose in this new world and it had been granted to him by Natalie herself . . .

Her beautiful soul had stood by his side, fearless of the darkness within, and smiled upon his face so warmly that it brought forth more tears. Thousands of years of pain and anger were erased when she had reached out and touched him, kissed his wounds, and asked him to stand for her. Fangs and blood meant nothing to her, when she herself was a wild garden, and the personification of nature itself.

And he had been allowed to have her. She was God's greatest creation and she had been meant to end up at his side, just as the sun had the moon. Her beauty reflected off his hollowed and beaten soul, and the resulting glow had allowed the world to build itself back up into something new, capable of supporting all life.

His chest hitched, but he refused to let out the sob that wished so dearly to be released.

Forgiveness had been granted the day Natalie McAllister had set foot onto the Earth. New light shone upon all those present when she first opened her eyes and not even the angels themselves had been able to look away. She was light and love and laughter and she had been made to tame the darkness within his soul. Within the world.

She had stood before the wolf and saw it wanting. She had looked beyond the ferocity of its rage and saw it hungry. She had wrapped her arms around it and saw it _needing_. She had been fearless as it raged against her hold and spilled forth all that she had to offer. And she saw it heal.

The wolf's hackles fell and the fangs retreated behind the softness of love and adoration. And the question of what he had done retreated into his heart and soul and was no more.

"Thank you," he whispered.


End file.
